Market design, my field of specialization, seeks not only to identify desirable institutions and rules in theory, but also to translate those ideas into improvements in real-world systems. Putting research into practice, therefore, brings market-design research particularly close to its ultimate objective. I regard such implementation as a research activity that is even more important than writing papers or presenting at academic conferences.
Guided by this view, I have worked with practitioners in the private sector and national and local governments to redesign institutions and improve operations. This includes socially significant projects that do not necessarily lead directly to conventional academic outputs. In support of these efforts, I have served as Project Manager at The University of Tokyo Market Design Center (UTMD); Project Coordinator and Group Leader of the Implementation Group at the ERATO Kojima Market Design Project; Advisor to UTokyo Economic Consulting Inc. (UTEcon); and Chair of the Japanese Economic Association’s Outreach Working Group.
This page presents projects I have worked on that can be described based on information already released to the public. To avoid placing an unnecessary burden on collaborators by asking them to review the wording for each project, I have intentionally kept the summaries brief and limited them to facts that can be readily verified from public sources. Please follow the links under each project for further details.
I worked with Timee, Inc. to improve matching between workers and businesses in the spot-work market.
📖"Designing Recommendation Exposure and Favorite Lists: A Field Experiment in a Spot-Work Platform" with Kazuki Sekiya, Suguru Otani, Yuki Komatsu, and Shunsuke Ozeki
📰UTMD press release announcing the joint research (in Japanese)
📰Timee press release announcing the joint research (in Japanese)
I conducted joint research with MiDATA Inc. on improving two-sided recommendation systems.
📖"Integrating Predictive Models into Two-Sided Recommendations: A Matching-Theoretic Approach" with Kazuki Sekiya, Suguru Otani, Yuki Komatsu, and Sachio Ohkawa
📰UTMD press release announcing the joint research (in Japanese)
📰MiDATA press release announcing the joint research (in Japanese)
Many prefectures in Japan currently (as of 2026) use a “single-application” system for public high school admissions, under which each student may apply to only one public high school. Other prefectures use systems with very similar practical characteristics. Our group has proposed an admissions system based on the deferred acceptance (DA) algorithm as a more desirable alternative and has provided technical expertise to national and local governments.
After that, the Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba instructed the government in April 2025 to examine a review of the single-application system. The proposal received extensive media coverage, and its possible adoption has been under consideration.
UTMD has created a dedicated resource page that brings together materials related to this proposal. Please see that page for further information.
I approached the design of vaccine-allocation and appointment systems for COVID-19 and other pandemic diseases as a market-design problem. I conducted research on possible improvements and provided technical expertise to relevant organizations.
📖"No Screening is More Efficient with Multiple Objects" with Genta Okada
📚「ワクチン配布のロジスティクスとマーケットデザイン」, Mitsubishi Economic Research Institute (in Japanese)
📖「ワクチン配布のメカニズムデザイン」in the proceedings of the Operations Research Society of Japan, Vol. 67, No. 3, 2022 (in Japanese)
📝「ワクチン接種の需要喚起についての政策提言」Toyo Keizai Online, 2021 (in Japanese; joint policy proposal with Fumio Ohtake, Hiroaki Odahara, Morimitsu Kurino, Fuhito Kojima, Keiichiro Kobayashi, Takeshi Murooka, and Yasutora Watanabe)
📝「ワクチン予約システムに関する改善提案」Toyo Keizai Online, 2021 (in Japanese; also available on note; joint policy proposal with Fumio Ohtake, Morimitsu Kurino, Fuhito Kojima, Keiichiro Kobayashi, and Takeshi Murooka)
📝 「『マッチング理論』で考える、望ましいワクチン配布」Keizai Seminarセミナー, June-July 2021 issue, Nippon Hyoron Sha, 2021
📝「COVID-19ワクチンの配布計画とマッチング・マーケットデザイン」UTMD Report, 2021 (in Japanese)
📰「ワクチン配布にマーケットデザイン生かせ」Monthly Komei, August 2021 issue, Komei Publishing Service, 2021 (in Japanese)
📰「ワクチン推進に Go To 活用を」Nikkei, morning edition, June 22, 2021 (in Japanese)
📰「日本のワクチン予約は欠陥 トイレ紙買い占めとの共通点」The Asahi Shimbun, morning edition, May 23, 2021 (in Japanese)
📰「新型コロナワクチン接種は『誰』が担うべきか」Wedge, July 2021 issue (in Japanese)
📰「経済学者のコロナとの闘い 社会実装へ英知結集を」Nikkei Opinion: Kakushin, 2021 (in Japanese)
📰「殺到する電話、ワクチン予約システムのパンクは『予想されていた混乱』 なぜ問題を繰り返す？「早い者勝ち」の仕組みに課題」BuzzFeed, 2021
📰「ワクチン敗戦から立ち上がれ」Weekly Playboy, No. 17, 2021 (in Japanese)
📺「ワクチン接種 望ましい配布計画とは」Yoru Express Insight, Nikkei CNBC, aired February 16, 2021 (in Japanese)
📰「東京大学エコノミックコンサルティング株式会社と千代田区におけるワクチン接種に関するコンサルティングを開始」UTMD Press Release, 2021 (in Japanese)
I contributed to a policy proposal to improve the auction system used in Japan’s PET-bottle recycling market.
📝"Policy Proposal for Redesigning PET-Bottle Recycling Auctions" UTMD Report (in Japanese; joint policy proposal with Kyohei Okumura, Hiroaki Odahara, and Hitoshi Matsushima)
📰「ペットボトル入札を考える」The Sen-i News, June 27, 2023 (in Japanese)
📝「日本のペットボトルはちゃんとリサイクルできているの？」in Everyday Questions vs. UTokyo, Tansei, No. 46, the University of Tokyo’s public-relations magazine, 2023 (in Japanese)
📝An edited version was subsequently included in『素朴な疑問VS東大 「なぜ？」から始まる学術入門』
📰回収ペットボトルは「地上油田」 東京大が入札改革提言, Nikkei Veritas, 2022 (in Japanese)
I participated in a project to improve auction systems used in Aucnet’s businesses.
📰「ノーベル賞経済理論で稼ぐオークネット 東大研究者らと競売設計」Nikkei Business, 2025 (in Japanese)
📰「株式会社オークネット: 経済学の知見でビジネスにイノベーションを起こす 『マルチユニット・ハイブリッドオークション』『スマホ・タブレット端末の残価予測』の導入をご支援」UTEcon Case Study (in Japanese)
📰「UTEconとイトーキが会議室不足を解決する新ソリューション「Reserve Any」を開発」UTEcon Press Release, 2023 (in Japanese)
📰「オークネット UTEconと経済学的知見に基づいた新オークション方式『マルチユニット・ハイブリッドオークション』を開発」Aucnet Press Release, 2023 (in Japanese)
I participated in the joint development by ITOKI CORPORATION and UTEcon of “Reserve Any,” a next-generation meeting-room reservation system.
📺Reserve Any Introduction Video（YouTube/PIVOT）
📰「『イトーキ×UTEcon』が次世代の『働く』を、デザインする。 会議室予約システム「Reserve Any」の開発をご支援」UTEcon Case Study (in Japanese)
📰「イトーキ、オフィスワーカーの働き方をリデザインしながら、会議室不足を解決する新ソリューション『Reserve Any』を発表」 ITOKI Press Release, 2024 (in Japanese)