MIMURA Mitsuhiro is a Senior Research Fellow of the Research Division at ERINA (Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia) in Niigata, Japan. He received Ph. D. in Jurisprudence from the Graduate School of Law, Osaka University, Japan, in 2001. Upon graduation, he has been conducting research at ERINA. His area of study includes the North Korean economy, North Korean law, the Inter-Korean Relationship, and Northeast Asian economic integration. Since 1996, he has visited North Korea more than thirty times. He often visits various cities in Northeast Asia, including Pyongyang, for academic exchange. He is one of the rare Japanese scholars who can exchange thoughts directly with North Koreans scholars in Pyongyang. Supported by colleagues in both Koreas, China, Russia, the U.S., the E.U., and Japan, his research has deep insight into how
Northeast Asia and is widely accepted in Northeast Asian countries, including North Korea. Based on his unique experience, he advocates a new perspective of integrated North East Asian economy.