Born in California, Joseph Shaules (PhD) has worked in language and intercultural education for more than 20 years. For ten years he was a tenured faculty member at Rikkyo University, Tokyo. He has worked in curriculum design, educational publishing, and was the co-presenter of the NHK television program Crossroads Café. He teaches courses in intercultural education at the Rikkyo Graduate School of Intercultural Communication. He does intercultural training in Japan, and has lived and worked abroad (Mexico, Japan, and France) for more than 20 years. He is proficient in English, Japanese, French and Spanish. He created the PICO Intercultural Learning System and is the director of the Japan Intercultural Institute.