Asakawa an haife ta da hangen nesa na yau da kullun, amma bayan ta ji rauni a jijiyar gani lokacin da ta buga idonta na hagu a gefen wurin ninkaya yana da shekaru 11, ta fara rasa ganinta, kuma yana da shekaru 14 ta makance gaba ɗaya. Ta sami digiri na farko a cikin wallafe-wallafen Ingilishi a Jami'ar Otemon Gakuin a Osaka a 1982 sannan ta fara karatun shirye-shiryen kwamfuta na shekaru biyu don makafi ta amfani da Optacon don fassara bugawa zuwa taɓawa. Ta shiga IBM Research tare da matsayi na wucin gadi a cikin 1984, kuma ta zama mai bincike na dindindin a can shekara guda daga baya. A cikin 2004 ta sami Ph.D. a aikin injiniya daga Jami'ar Tokyo. Tambaya: Ina Jami'ar Otemon Gakuin take?
Birnin Osaka