Can science and finance be connected?

What was discussed

The session discussed how to reconcile the time horizons and ways of valuing things in science and finance. From the issue that the financial side lacks the knowledge to evaluate science, it introduced the activities of FDSF, which explores a common language between researchers and financial professionals. It also took up the gaps among university education and research, startup support, and investment, and the problem that research progress is hard to see. The possibility of overlapping the long investment horizon of education insurance with the time horizon of research, and a mechanism for returning investment profits to the research community, were discussed.

About this session

Can science and finance actually connect? We ask where these two seemingly close yet distant fields meet, together with guests who approach the question from the finance side. Economy-led science may itself be an insufficient meeting point. Can a joining of science and finance that is valuable to society and to daily life be achieved even in today's intricately developed financial environment? We open a space for dialogue on that possibility.

Speakers

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  Yosuke Yasuda

  ModeratorNational Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)　Professor

  An economist specialising in microeconomics, game theory and market design. After graduating from the University of Tokyo he earned his doctorate in economics at Princeton University. He served as associate professor at GRIPS, then as associate professor and professor at Osaka University, and returned to GRIPS as professor in October 2025. He has published in journals including the American Economic Review, and in 2020 co-founded Economics Design Inc. to put economics to work in practice.

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  Masaaki Amma

  PwC Japan LLC　Special Adviser

  He joined PwC Aarata LLC in 2021 and worked on sustainability strategy, business transformation, building risk management systems, and supporting businesses that address social problems in developing countries as well as sustainable investment and lending. He moved to PwC Sustainability LLC in 2022 and, since July 2025, has supported related work as a Special Adviser at PwC Japan LLC.

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  HARUNA Takayuki

  Japan Post Insurance　Senior Managing Executive Officer

  Senior Managing Executive Officer at Japan Post Insurance. In its asset management division he has worked on ESG-aware investment, sustainable investment and lending, and impact investing. He is also involved in connecting university research with finance, and promotes asset management that pursues both medium- to long-term returns and a sustainable society, through partnerships with educational institutions and investment in impact funds.

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  Yuichi Katayori

  Tokyo University of Science Innovation Capital　Representative Director and Managing Partner

  After completing a master's at the Graduate School of Management, Tokyo University of Science, he worked on structured finance and alternative investment at Dai-ichi Life Insurance and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He then worked on incubation and endowment management at Tokyo University of Science, and now leads the university's certified venture capital arm, investing in and developing startups from the university.