I started my career at the JETRO Institute of Developing Economies in 1998 as a research fellow working on compilations and applications for the Asian International Input–Output Tables. In parallel with data creation, I conducted research on the anticipated impacts of trade liberalization under current or prospective considerations by the Japanese government, using multi-region multi-sector applied general equilibrium (AGE) models. Then, from 2003 to 2010, I devoted myself to theoretical research on endogenous economic growth because I was interested in the dynamic effects of trade policies as well as the international spillover effects of fiscal policies. The results of that research are being incorporated into my ongoing work, which involves numerical simulation analysis of the international spillover effects of aging populations and social security policies in the Asian region. Since 2011, I have been conducting research projects that use mainly numerical simulation models with the aim of (1) incorporating forward-looking dynamics with overlapping generations into multi-region, multi-sector AGE models, (2) analyzing the strategic choices of multinational enterprises to access foreign markets, and (3) applying trade models that presume product differentiation among heterogeneous firms.

My recent research aims to answer the question “what type of analytical model can we build and what kind of dataset is required when we would like to perform numerical simulation analysis on …,” mainly from the perspective of modeling. In addition, I am investigating differences in the behaviors of models that have different theoretical backgrounds or assumptions, which may substantially affect simulation results, even when the models are parameterized with an identical set of benchmark data. Although examining specific policies or economic environments in a large-scale analytical framework is the dominant trend in the AGE model builder community, we often encounter cases where it is difficult to interpret the simulation results. Because one of the most important tasks for economists is to explain what is going on by disentangling the complex tapestry of economic effects into its individual threads, I hope this type of research may produce useful information that will aid the interpretation of simulation results.