Born in Osaka in 1967. I graduated from the Faculty of Business, Osaka City University and withdrew from the Ph.D. program of the Graduate School of Business, Osaka City University. After serving as an assistant and then as a full-time lecturer at Kochi University, I took the post of full-time lecturer and then assistant professor at Osaka Kyoiku University. I joined the faculty of the College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University as an assistant professor in 2003 and became a professor there in 2009. My specialty is public finance, especially local public finance and public works. I am also studying social disasters, such as the asbestos problem, from the perspective of public policy science.

The realities of national and local public policies cannot be sufficiently studied through the conventional normative approach of economics. Therefore, I am conducting theoretical and empirical research to reconstruct this theme in the context of political economy, and in this connection, studying the future direction of the decentralized local public finance system, while considering a new structure of regional economy that can support the decentralized system. My research interests also include the asbestos problem as one of the social disasters, as well as labor accidents and environmental problems. I teach “Urban Political Economy” and “Public Finance,” and give a seminar on the analysis of urban public finance.

I expect students to acquire the ability to propose accountable public policies based on analyses of the actual regional economy and local public finance. Considering that the implementation of a public policy affects a great many people, you should recognize that those involved in public policies shoulder a huge responsibility. I believe that by studying seriously with an understanding of this, you can develop the ability to make an essential contribution to the development of society.

Local public finance, public finance, urban political economy, social disaster, public policy