In 1966 he earned his B. A. (Engineering) at the Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, and in 1971 his Ph.D. (Engineering) at the Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo.
In 1967, while working on his Ph.D. under the supervision of professor Kenichi Honda (本多 健一), he discovered the phenomenon of photocatalytic water decomposition (water photolysis) when he exposed a titanium dioxide electrode to strong light, later called the Honda-Fujishima effect [REF].