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Nakamaru Lab
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The lab explores how human society works through mathematical models and simulation.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring the essence of society and humans with mathematical models.
The Nakamaru Lab studies how human society works, using mathematical models and simulation.
It takes on a major question in evolutionary ecology: why do people cooperate with others even at a cost to themselves?
The lab also investigates why real-world social institutions persist, such as tanomoshiko (a traditional rotating savings and credit association) and microcredit.
By building models, the lab makes clear reasoning that tends to stay vague in discussions that rely on words alone.
Key terms
- Evolutionary game theory
- An approach that represents the behavior of organisms and people as a contest of gains and losses based on anticipating others' moves, and examines which behaviors spread
- Agent-based simulation
- A method that runs each individual as a separate "agent" inside a computer to see what happens to the group
- Tanomoshiko
- A long-standing mutual aid system in which local people pool money and take turns receiving the lump sum
ResearchResearch themes
The lab explores the origins of human society and the mechanisms of social systems using mathematical models and simulation. It uses differential equation and difference equation models, and analyzes phenomena that are hard to express in such models with agent-based simulation.
*Illustrative imageUnderstanding society through the evolution of human behavior
To understand the essence of society and humans, the lab conducts research from the perspective of human behavioral evolution. It investigates why people cooperate even at a cost to themselves, and how much abilities unique to humans contribute to building human-specific societies.
*Illustrative imageExploring how social systems work
The lab focuses on social institutions that exist today and studies why they persist. Using the ideas of evolutionary game theory, it theoretically analyzes tanomoshiko found around the world and microcredit, which derives from them.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Nakamaru Lab consist of faculty, researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, research students, and administrative assistants.As of 2026
- ProfessorMayuko NakamaruPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Social Network Visualization” Martin Grandjean / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Understanding society through the evolution of human behavior: “Ancient Greece Pottery Statue of Board Game Players ( )” Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China / CC0 (cropped)
- Exploring how social systems work: “An ESAF 'Sangam' Meeting in progress in Kerala” Jaimoen87 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (中村隆志研究室): “Coral Outcrop Flynn Reef” Toby Hudson / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (相樂研究室): “Nuclear Fuel Pellets ( )” Nuclear Regulatory Commission from US / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (林﨑研究室): “CERN CCDTL LINAC 4 Prototype linear accelerator” Julian Herzog / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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