Professor Yasuhiko Torii: An Obituary

• Author: Shin‐ichi Ichimura,Yutaka Akiyama,Akira Kohsaka,Hal Hill,Shujiro Urata
• Published date: 01 June 2020
• Date: 01 June 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/asej.12215

Professor Yasuhiko Torii: An Obituary

Yutaka Akiyama,

1

Hal Hill,

2

Shin-ichi Ichimura,

3

Akira Kohsaka

4

and Shujiro Urata

5

Received 1 December 2018; Accepted 15 December 2018

1

Keio University, Japan

2

Australian National University, Australia

3

Kyoto University, Japan

4

Osaka University, Japan

5

Waseda University, Japan

doi: 10.1111/asej.12215

Professor Yasuhiko Torii was a former president of the East Asian Economic

Association (EAEA) and an important leader in research on the Asian

economies.

Professor Torii started his academic career in the field of econometric analysis

of economic development under the guidance of Professor Keiichiro Obi, Keio

University. Covering various research topics, including an Input–Output table of

Malaysia and the informal sector in Thailand, he not only produced various arti-

cles and books but also nurtured many leading figures in academic, business

and public services. He wrote Economic Development Theory, Toyokeizai-

Shinpo-sha, 1979, and Economics of Development—Empirical Investigations,

Keio-Tsushin-sha, 1984 (a translation of Yotopoulos, Panos A., and Jeffrey

B. Nugent (1976), Economics of Development—Empirical Investigations,

New York: Harper & Row, Publishers), both of which became popular among

development researchers in Japan.

Professor Torii was elected as president of Keio University in 1993 and

served for eight years, during which time he played a leading role in the Central

Bank Study Group to contribute to the revision of the Bank of Japan Act to

establish greater independence from the government. In 2001, he was appointed

as the first chair of Central Council of Education of the new Ministry of Educa-

tion, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and served for six years

as the head of the advisory board for Japan’s national educational system.

*Akira Kohsaka (corresponding author): E-mail: kohsaka@osipp.osaka-u.ac.jp

© 2020 East Asian Economic Association and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

Asian Economic Journal 2020, Vol.34 No. 2, 233–236 233