Executive Research Fellow
Master of Policy Studies
■Research Area
Information Society Studies, Information and Communications Policy, Digital Government, Open Data / Open Government, Civic Tech, Regional Informationization
My research spans information society studies and information and communications policy, with a focus on government and municipal digitalization, open data and personal data utilization, regional digital transformation, and civic tech.I am particularly interested in the governance and management of cities and local communities. As digitalization and standardization advance, how can we effectively leverage local resources — people, goods, capital, and data — to address challenges and enable self-governance tailored to each community’s specific circumstances? And how can we sustain the circulation of knowledge across society? I explore these questions through interdisciplinary social science perspectives, drawing on cases from Japan and around the world.My two guiding keywords are “open” and “co-creation.” I believe that widely sharing information and data, and combining diverse perspectives, gives rise to better collective wisdom.In practice, I engage with government and municipal policy as Open Data Evangelist at the Digital Agency, Leader of the Regional ICT Advisors at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and as chair or member of numerous advisory committees. I am also active in civil society as Representative Director of Open Knowledge Foundation Japan (OKJP) and Co-Representative Director of Dementia Friendly Japan Initiative (DFJI).I began my career as a researcher at GLOCOM in 2002, and since 2019 have served as Professor at the Faculty of Sociology, Musashi University, while continuing to participate in GLOCOM activities as Executive Research Fellow. Guided by the conviction that “we can build the information society with our own hands,” I continue to move between academia, government, and civil society in both research and practice.
Born in 1976. Master’s degree in Policy Studies, Graduate School of Policy Studies, Chuo University. Masahiko has been a researcher at GLOCOM, International University of Japan since 2002, and a professor at the Faculty of Sociology, Musashi University since 2019. He is also the Open Data Evangelist at the Cabinet Secretariat, the chairperson of the Study Group on Standardization of Local Government Systems, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the advisor to the MIC on local informatization, the representative director of the Open Knowledge Foundation Japan, and the director of the Movement for Internet Active Users (MIAU).
June 2020 – Present: Member, Working Group on My Number System and Fundamental Improvement of National and Local Governments’ Digital Infrastructure
August 2019 – present: Chairperson, Study Group on Standardization of Local Government Systems, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
March 2016 – present: Open Data Evangelist, Cabinet Secretariat
July 2015 – Present: Advisor for local Informatization, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
March 2000: Graduated with a degree in Policy Science, Faculty of Policy Studies, Chuo University
March 2002: Completed Master’s program, Graduate School of Policy Studies, Chuo University (Master of Policy Studies)
2002: Researcher, GLOCOM, International University of Japan
2004: Research Associate / Researcher, GLOCOM, International University of Japan
2008: Lecturer / Senior Researcher, GLOCOM, International University of Japan
2015: Associate Professor / Senior Researcher, GLOCOM, International University of Japan
2018: Associate Professor / Principal Researcher, GLOCOM, International University of Japan
2019: Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Musashi University / Principal Researcher, GLOCOM, International University of Japan
2023: Vice Director, Musashi Academy Data Science Research Institute
2024: Visiting Professor, Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo
