Koichi Hamada is Tuntex Emeritus Professor of Economics at Yale University, where he specializes in the Japanese economy and international economics, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, where he taught before coming to Yale in 1986. Professor Hamada has an L.L.B. and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo as well as an M.A. and PhD in Economics from Yale University.

He was a member of the Consulting Group that advised Mike Moore, Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), on the future perspectives for the world trade system, and he was until recently a member of the Consulting Group that advises Supachai Panitchpakdi, Director General of the WTO.

Koichi Hamada was a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, the Ford Dissertation Fellowship and the Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector (IRIS) Fellowship.

Professor Hamada is currently Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe.