Mitsumaru Kumagai is Chief Economist at Daiwa Institute of Research. He was appointed Operating Officer in 2014 and was named Executive Managing Director, Deputy Head of Research Division in 2017. He is responsible for covering Japan’s economy and is in charge of the quarterly publication of Japan’s Economic Outlook. He has served on several government committees and expert committes including Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Cabinet Secretariat’s. He is a regular commentator on TV Tokyo’s World Business Satellite, Japan’s leading business news program. He placed first seven times as economist and forex analyst in various surveys. Mr. Kumagai is the author of New Economic Realities 2018 published by Nikkei Business Publications. He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law in 1989 and 1993 from Tokyo University. In 2016 he completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. He is a chartered member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan.