Profile

Rihito Kotani

Researcher @ NII, UTokyo.

Bilingual in Japanese and English. Lived in Myanmar from 2017–2021.

Recent Updates(10 items)

Lead Researcher – Shiba AI (Shibaura Institute of Technology)

April 29, 2026

Joined Shiba AI, a rapidly growing Japan-based AI safety lab at Shibaura Institute of Technology, as Research Project Lead. Focused on Mechanistic Interpretability — understanding the internal mechanisms of large language models through circuit-level analysis and interpretability methods.

April 1, 2026

Joined the Research and Development Center for Large Language Models (LLMC) at the National Institute of Informatics (NII) in April 2026, with official appointment as Technical Assistant beginning June 2026. Research focused on Post-training.

February 1, 2026

Joined Studist as Lead AI Research Engineer, leading R&D of Physical AI for a new business initiative.

See all updates (10)

Experience

Research

2026/4–Present

Current
  • Joined the Research and Development Center for Large Language Models (LLMC) in April 2026
  • Research focused on Post-training
  • Official appointment as Technical Assistant beginning June 2026
Research

2025/5–Present

Current
  • Co-Researcher at Matsuo–Iwasawa Lab
  • Focusing on Mechanistic Interpretability, Post-training, and more
Industry

2026/2–Present

Current
  • Leading research and development of Physical AI for a new business initiative
  • Driving technical direction from the ground up, bridging cutting-edge AI and Robotics
Volunteer

2025/8–Present

Current
Executive Board Member2026/2–Present
Consultant2025/8–2026/2
  • The world's largest university-based consultancy for non-profits and social enterprises
  • Delivering strategic and operational consulting to socially conscious organizations

Lead Researcher – Shiba AI (Shibaura Institute of Technology)

Research

2026/4–Present

Current
  • Research project lead at Shiba AI, a rapidly growing Japan-based AI safety lab focused on Mechanistic Interpretability
  • Understanding the internal mechanisms of large language models through circuit-level analysis and interpretability methods
Teaching

2025/11–2026/1

  • Taught LLM Analysis & Interpretability to graduate students and industry professionals
  • Covering cutting-edge technologies essential for implementing LLMs in societal and industry contexts
Industry

2025/5–2026/1

  • Founding CTO at a smart parking startup transforming parking infrastructure in Japan
  • Led end-to-end technical development from zero to first product release
  • Overseeing full-stack architecture, deployment, and product strategy
Industry

2025/5–2026/2

  • Developing application and system for better franchise management of restaurants
  • Leading development teams and coordinating cross-functional collaboration

Education

April 2025 – March 2029

Current

Member of the Nakazawa–Ōkoshi Research Laboratory

September 2023 – December 2023

Stanford e-Japan Program (SPICE), Fall 2023. Honorable Mention recipient.

Tokyo Gakugei University International Secondary School

Graduated March 2025

British School of Yangon, Myanmar

2017 – 2021

Attended from 2017 to 2021 (Primary 5 through end of Secondary)

Skills

  • AI / ML: Large Language Models, Interpretability, Physical AI, Applied Machine Learning, Model Training & Fine-tuning
  • Development: Full-Stack (Python, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript, SwiftUI, mid level cpp)
  • Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS
  • Other Strengths: Start-up product development, consulting, research communication, agile teamwork

Awards & Honors

Highest award from Japan's Ministry of Education for outstanding student research achievements

World's largest pre-college science competition. Received special award in Computer Science category for LLM interpretability research

One of Japan's most prestigious student science competitions, awarded by the Minister of Science and Technology Policy

National business plan competition organized by Japan Finance Corporation. Placed 3rd out of thousands of entries

United Nations Development Programme initiative recognizing young social entrepreneurs in the Asia-Pacific region

Stanford University's program for outstanding Japanese high school students studying U.S.–Japan relations

National app development competition for high school students in Japan

Activities & Organizations

2024 - Present

Leading research on human-centered artificial intelligence approaches

  • Developing ethical AI frameworks
  • Conducting interdisciplinary research bridging humanities and AI
  • Publishing papers on AI alignment and safety

2024

Participant in Asia's largest student-run conference

  • Attended workshops on technology and innovation
  • Engaged in discussions on AI policy and governance
  • Networked with leaders in technology and business

Additional Information

  • Bilingual: Fluent in Japanese and English
  • Lived in Myanmar (2017–2021); experienced in international education and diverse collaboration
  • Strong experience in public speaking, pitch competitions, and leadership roles in both research and product development