After graduating in 1998 from Gakurin Seminary in Tokyo, he received ordination as a Dharma Teacher in Rissho Kosei-kai, a major Japanese Buddhist denomination. He received a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford in 1998. Rev. Shinohara started to work for Religions for Peace-Japan in 2005. He supported the hosting of the 8th World Assembly of Religions for Peace in Kyoto in 2006, and co-led the ARMS DOWN! Campaign for disarmament and MDGs in 2010, as coordinator of International Youth Committee of Religions for Peace. In the Great East Japan Earthquakes, he has served as Disaster Reconstruction Coordinator. Rev. Shinohara received a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Tohoku in 2014, and a PhD in Human Security Studies from the University of Tokyo in 2021.