Sudarno Sumarto is the Shorenstein APARC / Asia Foundation fellow for 2009-10.  He has a PhD and an MA from Vanderbilt University and a BS from Satya Wacana Christian University (Salatiga), all in economics.  Prior to joining Shorenstein APARC he was the director of SMERU for nearly 10 years. SMERU is an independent institution for research and public policy studies which professionally and proactively provides accurate and timely information, as well as objective analysis on various socioeconomic and poverty issues considered most urgent and relevant for the people of Indonesia. The institute has been at the forefront of the research effort to highlight the impact of government programs and policies, and has actively published and reported its research findings. The work expanded to include other areas of applied and economic research that are of fundamental importance to contemporary development issues. He was also a lecturer at Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), Bogor, Indonesia.

Sumarto has contributed to more than sixty co-authored articles, chapters, reports, and working papers, including "Agricultural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Indonesia," in Beyond Food Production (2007); "Reducing Unemployment in Indonesia," SMERU Working Paper, 2007; "Improving Student Performance in Public Primary Schools in Developing Countries:  Evidence from Indonesia," Education Economics, December 2006; and “The Effects of Location and Sectoral Components of Economic Growth on Poverty: Evidence from Indonesia.” Journal of Development Economics, 89(1), pp. 109-117, May 2009.  As well as conducting research and writing papers, Sumarto has worked closely with the Indonesian government, giving advice on poverty issues and government poverty alleviation programs.

Sumarto has spoken on poverty and development issues in Australia, Chile, Peru, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Japan, Morocco, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, among other countries.

Tomohiro Yamaguchi is a corporate affiliate visiting fellow at Shorenstein APARC for 2009-10.  Previously at Sumitomo Corporation in Japan, he was in charge of developing new business in the Mobile & Internet Business Department. In this capacity, he engaged in a startup of a DSL company, one of Sumitomo Corporation's venture businesses.  Additionally, he developed and operated new software products such as SaaS for enterprises and Music SNS for consumers.  He graduated from Kobe University with a BA in Intercultural Studies.

Hirofumi Takinami is a corporate affiliate visiting fellow at Shorenstein APARC for 2009-10 and 2010-11.  He is currently undertaking a collaborative research with Professor Phillip Lipscy, one of the faculty of Shorenstein APARC and Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, on the financial crises in Japan and the U.S.

Takinami has been working for the Japanese government for 16 years.  He served, among others, in policy coordination and management positions notably in the public finance area, including Deputy Cabinet Counselor in charge of coordinating domestic and economic policies at Cabinet Secretariat; Director for Office of Planning and Personnel Management, Deputy Budget Examiner on social security expenditures and Deputy Director for Legal Division at the Ministry of Finance.

In addition to positions related to domestic policy, Takinami also worked internationally, attending as one of Japanese delegates to meetings, including Ministerial-level, of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM).  While sent to the Ministry of Justice, he served as Special Advisory Staff to the Director-General of Criminal Affairs Bureau, addressing international economic crimes. 

Takinami graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1994, earning a Bachelor of Law.  In his first dispatch to the United States by the Ministry of Finance, he received a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago in 1998 with a major in finance and public finance.

Takinami was born and raised in Ono, Fukui, the prefecture next to Kyoto, known for producing many CEO's in Japan.  He is proud of inheriting the virtues of "dilligence, honesty and gratitutde" of this snowy country.

Suguru Taguchi is a corporate affiliate visiting fellow at Shorenstein APARC for 2009-10. He joined the Japan Patent Office (JPO) in 1996 and has worked as a patent examiner, handling patent applications mainly in the field of logistics. In 2001, he was in charge of international affairs, especially with respect to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. In 2007, he was also in charge of policy planning and law amendment with respect to patent attorneys. He graduated from the University of Tokyo with a BS in Mechanical Engineering.

Masahito Sugita is a corporate affiliate visiting fellow at Shorenstein APARC for 2009-10. He started his career as a systems engineer of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Tokyo, Japan in 1987, and has been involved in development of various IT systems for enterprises, such as automobile manufacturers, dealers and transportation companies. His latest position at his company is as a manager in Strategic IT Business Planning Department and he is in charge of research for new IT businesses. He graduated from the University of Tokyo with a BE in Precision Machinery Engineering.

Daiju Nakahashi is a corporate affiliate visiting fellow at Shorenstein APARC 
for 2009-2010. Prior to joining Shorenstein APARC, he has worked at Sumitomo 
Corporation, one of the major trading and investment conglomerates in Japan for 
fifteen years. He has been engaged in sales and marketing of IT-related products 
and services as well as venture investments and new business developments in the 
IT industry. In addition, he has experience to manage one of the affiliated companies 
of Sumitomo Corporation as an executive vice president. He graduated from Keio 
University with a degree in Commerce and Business."

Masatsugu Mitsuyama is a corporate affiliate visiting fellow at Shorenstein APARC for 2009-10. 
Prior to joining Shorenstein APARC, he has worked in the CATV Department in Sumitomo Corporation for 6 years. His main responsibility was supporting the management of one of the  affiliated companies, Jupiter Telecommunications, Inc., which is the largest CATV company in Japan. At Jupiter Telecommunications, Inc., Mitsuyama was the manager of Corporate Planning Department and was in charge of M&A, planning corporate strategy, investing, etc. He graduated from Keio University with a major in Business and Commerce.

Wataru Ishii is a Corporate Affiliates Visiting Fellow at Shorenstein APARC for 2009–10 and 2010–11. He is chief staff of the International Relations Division of Shizuoka Prefecture Government (SPG) in Japan where he has worked for the past 20 years. Before joining Shorenstein APARC, he worked in several departments of SPG, including taxation, tourism promotion, and public relations. He graduated from Kanazawa University with a BA in liberal arts.

Kiminori Gemba is a visiting scholar at Shorenstein APARC and joins the Stanford Project on Japanese Entrepreneurship, a project within the Stanford Program of Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 

His research interest lies in analyzing the innovation strategy of an "open innovation", with the main object of his research being to determine the source of the competitiveness of open innovations.

He received his Master's degree in Engineering from the University of Tokyo, after which he joined the Sanwa  Research Institute as a researcher.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo, where his doctoral thesis was entitled "The Dynamics of Diversification on Japanese Industries".  After receiving this degree, he worked as both a research associate an an associate professor at the University of Tokyo.  He is currently a professor at Ritsumeikan University's Graduate School of Technology Management.