Yasuhiro Ezaki

An experienced practitioner and researcher who has worked at the forefront of global business and in university research and education.

He joined Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1978, where he was involved in international business across a wide range of departments, including overseas sales, business planning, and production management. He built extensive international experience in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world, including a posting in the UK, and has traveled to 45 countries. During his corporate career, in addition to overseeing overseas business for telecommunications and broadcasting equipment, he spent many years engaged in corporate M&A and contract negotiations. His leadership roles included Deputy General Manager of the Broadcasting and Control Business Planning Division at NEC and Board Member of NEC Wireless Networks, Inc.

To deepen his practical experience from a theoretical perspective, he pursued graduate studies as a working professional. After earning his MBA, he continued his research at the Graduate School of Economic Science, Saitama University, where he received his Ph.D. in Economics in 2014. His doctoral dissertation focused on "The Globalization of Japanese Firms and the Social Infrastructure Business," examining the challenges Japanese companies face in demonstrating competitiveness in the global social infrastructure market. In 2015, he was appointed Professor at the Faculty of Management, Nagasaki Prefectural University, where he dedicated himself to education and research focused on international management. Since retiring from the university in 2021, he has continued a wide range of activities, including university education, supporting the overseas expansion of businesses, and promoting regional industrial development. His publications include Analyzing the Current State of Japan's Infrastructure Exports, and his research themes have spanned the international competitiveness of Japanese firms, infrastructure exports, overseas expansion, M&A, and industrial competitiveness.

In recent years, his research has focused on the central question: "Why do Japanese companies succeed or fail in global competition?" He analyzes this issue through the lenses of organizational capabilities, organizational inertia, management strategy, human resources, and institutions, examining cases such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ aircraft business, the Japanese semiconductor industry, TSMC’s expansion into Kumamoto, Rapidus, and cross-border M&As by Japanese firms. In 2024, he published a peer-reviewed paper analyzing Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' exit from the aircraft business from the perspectives of organizational capabilities and structural inertia. Since 2025, he has continued his research and conference presentations on the semiconductor industry and cross-border M&As.

Currently, he teaches international management, international economics, and macroeconomics at the Faculty of Business Administration and the Graduate School of Business Administration, Mejiro University, while also conducting research as a Visiting Researcher at the School of Economics and Management, University of Hyogo.