Yusaku Kawashima is a senior innovation officer at the World Bank Group Information and Technology Solutions, Technology & Innovation Lab. His main professional focus is the implementation of emerging technologies to foster social development in low and middle-income countries.
Yusaku develops policy recommendations to explore and operationalize emerging technologies for the public sector, including national and regional governments. In addition, he actively participates in implementing future-oriented policy-making methodologies (i.e., foresight and scenario planning).
Before joining the World Bank, Yusaku served as a deputy director at the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan, where he took charge of innovation policy and social welfare maximization. He received a Master of International Economics and Finance degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University. He also serves as a consulting fellow at Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan.