Hiro Masutomo

Takehiro Masutomo is a quadrilingual journalist and author specializing in East Asia, with a particular focus on the underlying implications of the new wave of Chinese immigrants to the rest of the world. Based in Tokyo, he draws on his on-the-ground reporting experience in more than 20 countries and a hybrid background spanning academia and media to interpret complex current affairs within the region.

He currently serves as an adjunct researcher at the Institute of Japan in the Global Economy, Waseda University as well as a regular commentator on China and Southeast Asia for My Asa! on NHK Radio. In Beijing, he has worked for Caixin, China’s leading business and finance media as a staff writer on international news, covering business and politics in Japan and the Korean Peninsula in Chinese. He worked as a researcher at the National University of Singapore between 2014 and 2016.

 

His bestselling book Run Ri: Tracing the Flight of China’s Wealthy to Japan, sparked nationwide policy debate on immigration and Japan’s demographic strategy. The book was praised by the FT as a “revelatory work” and has been translated into Chinese in Taiwan. He continues to give public lectures at universities and think tanks both at home and abroad in Japanese, Chinese, and English. He has contributed to outlets including Nikkei Asia, South China Morning Post, Kompas, and Tempo (Indonesian), among many others.

 

Hiro obtained a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from University of California, San Diego.