Takatoshi Ito, Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, has taught extensively both in the United States and Japan since finishing his Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University in 1979. He taught at the University of Minnesota, Hitotsubashi University, and the University of Tokyo, and he was President of the Japanese Economic Association in 2004. Ito served as Senior Advisor in the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund, 1994-97 and as Deputy Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance of Japan, 1999-2001, and a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, 2006-08. He is an author of Japanese Economy, 2nd Edition, and many other books and refereed journal articles. He was awarded the National Medal with Purple Ribbon for his excellent academic achievement.