My research focus is the manufacturing industry, and I have conducted studies on factory operations, international division of labor, knowledge transfer, innovation, and related policies. I aim to understand the mechanisms of industrial development from the perspective of the business environment, corporate management, and related policies. Industrial development involves sophistication, diversification, and geographical expansion of industrial activities. My research investigates business management and infrastructure development that help to achieve seamless movement and effective utilization of the goods, people, information, and technology that are required for business activities. I also examine the relationship between these factors and the sophistication and diversification of business activities as well as the geographical expansion of international business networks and I explore the policies, economic integration, and international cooperation that are necessary for industrial advancement. To tackle these issues, I conduct case studies and perform data analyses of manufacturing companies and industry-level production networks.

Focusing on the manufacturing industry in Southeast Asia, I am presently researching three topics: Japanese companies’ international operational management, industrial development in least-developed countries, and digitalization. Regarding Japanese companies’ international operational management, using examples from the clothing and automobile-related industries, I am conducting research focusing on the transfer of functions to overseas locations, knowledge transfer among overseas branches, and the role of domestic factories in networks for labor-intensive production. As for industrial development in least-developed countries, I am conducting policy-oriented surveys concerning, for example, support for new products and market development by craft companies and promotion of the automobile industry. In terms of digitalization, I am conducting joint research with local researchers on manufacturers’ efforts to apply digital technology and related issues, as well as support from industry, the government, and academia for such efforts.