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Masato Wakayama
若山正人
Born1955 (age 70–71)
Japan
EducationTokyo University of Science(BSc)
Hiroshima University(PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsNTT Institute for Fundamental Mathematics
Zen University
Kyushu University
Thesis Zeta functions of Selberg's type associated with homogeneous vector bundles  (1985)
Kiyosato Okamoto

Masato Wakayama (Japanese: 若山 正人, romanized: Wakayama Masato; born November 1955) is a Japanese mathematician specializing in representation theory, number theory, and mathematical physics. He is the Research Principal of the NTT Institute of Fundamental Mathematics[1], President of ZEN University[2] and Professor Emeritus at Kyushu University[3]. He is also recognized for his efforts to improve research collaboration in mathematics between academia and industry and the development of mathematics among young people in Japan[4].

He has occupied invited positions and given distinguished lectures in numerous institutions, including University of Bologna[5], Princeton University[6], and Indiana University.

Life

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Masato Wakayama was born in November, 1955.[citation needed] In 1985, he received his Doctor of Science degree in mathematics from Hiroshima University under the supervision of Kiyosato Okamoto.[citation needed]

He worked as an assistant professor at Fukuyama University (1986-1989) and at Tottori University (1989-1994), moving later to Kyushu University, where he stayed until the end of 2019. In addition to the academic position, he held appointments as dean of the faculty of mathematics and graduate school of mathematics (2006-2010) and executive vice president of Kyushu University (2014-2019).[citation needed]

He led the foundation[vague] of the Institute of Mathematics for Industry of Kyushu University in 2011[7], a research institute dedicated to promoting mathematical collaboration between academia and industry in Japan, and held the position of founding director of the institute until 2014[8].

After concluding his period at Kyushu University, he joined Tokyo University of Science as vice president and professor at the Faculty of Science (2020-2021)[9]. Simultaneously, he occupied the position of Principal Fellow of the Center for Research and Development Strategy (CRDS)[10] during 2020-2024, a public think tank of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

In 2021, he founded the NTT Institute for Fundamental Mathematics (NTT IFM) in NTT R&D[11]. Belonging to the NTT Communication Science Laboratories, the Institute for Fundamental Mathematics is dedicated to basic research in mathematics with topics including algebraic geometry, number theory, representation theory, dynamical systems and graph theory[12]. Currently, he is the head of the institute and Fundamental Mathematics Research Principal[1].

In 2025, he became the first president of ZEN University, an online university established by the Educational Institute of The Nippon Foundation and DWANGO Co., Ltd[13]. Also, he has served as the president of the Mathematics Certification Institute of Japan[14].

A conference on the occasion of his 70th birthday was held on October 2025 at Kyushu University[15].

He has occupied diverse positions in institutions and committees in Japan, including:

  • Chair, Mathematics Innovation Committee in MEXT (2011-2017).[citation needed]
  • Visiting professor[16], Institute of Science Tokyo (2011-present).
  • Senior Advisor/Scientific Advisor[17], RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEM.S) (2020-present).
  • Advisor Board Member[18], Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University (2025-present).
  • Chair[19], Mathematical Science (Cross-sectional Issue in JST), Moonshot R&D Program by Cabinet of Japan (2020-present).
  • Editor-in-Chief[20], Mathematics for Industry Book Series of Nature-Springer. (2010-present).
  • Editor-in-Chief[21][22], International Journal of Mathematics for Industry. (2009-2025).
  • Chair and President[21], Asia Pacific Consortium of Mathematics for Industry (APCMfI) (2014-2021).
  • Editor-in-Chief, High School Mathematics Textbook Series "Shinpen" (Japanese: 新興出版社啓林館, romanized: Shinko Shuppansha Keirinkan), (2015–2023)[citation needed]
  • Editor-in-Chief, Library of Mathematical Foundations (Japanese: サイエンス社, romanized: saiensu sha), (2017–present).

Research

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His contributions are mainly in the areas of representation theory, mathematical physics, and number theory, particularly the theory of zeta functions.

He stated the study of representation theory and invariant theory of the alpha-determinant, a generalization of the determinant interpolating the determinant and the permanent, leading to a notion of wreath determinants for a rectangular matrix with good invariant properties. Other contributions to the theory of determinants are the extension of the Capelli identity to the context of quantum group [23], and a Pfaffian summation formula in terms of determinant minors for two matrices, which may be considered a Pfaffian version of the Cauchy-Binet formula for determinants[24].

He also introduced the non-commutative harmonic oscillator, a matrix-valued differential operator generalizing the quantum harmonic oscillator, and studied the arithmetical properties of its spectral zeta functions, obtaining relations with elliptic curves, generalized Apéry numbers and modular forms[25][26]. He has also contributed to the mathematical study of the spectrum of the quantum Rabi model, a model of quantum interaction. The two models are related via a confluence process of the ordinary differential equation pictures of their eigenvalue problems.[citation needed]

References

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  1. 1 2 "NTT Institute for Fundamental Mathematics". NTT R&D Website. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  2. ↑ "Message. President. Masato Wakayama". ZEN University. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  3. ↑ "WAKAYAMA, Masato | KYUSHU UNIVERSITY Institute of Mathematics for Industry". Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  4. ↑ Normile, Dennis (2015-11-06). "Pacific Rim mathematicians coaxed from their ivory towers". Science. 350 (6261): 616–616. doi:10.1126/science.350.6261.616. ISSN 0036-8075.
  5. ↑ "Seminari del Dipartimento di Matematica". seminari.dm.unibo.it. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  6. ↑ "Arithmetic Study Behind Spectra of Quantum Interactions | Videos | Institute for Advanced Study". www.ias.edu. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  7. ↑ "Institute of Mathematics for Industry Inaugurated | Topics | KYUSHU UNIVERSITY". 九州大学（KYUSHU UNIVERSITY）. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  8. ↑ "Message from the Director | KYUSHU UNIVERSITY Institute of Mathematics for Industry". Retrieved 2026-07-21. Since its establishment, the IMI has been the first research center for industrial mathematics in Japan, thanks to the leadership of its three directors, Masato Wakayama (April 2011 – September 2014)
  9. ↑ "[Event information – 11/17] TUS FORUM 2020 – New Initiatives for the SDGs – Looking Ahead to a Transformed Post-COVID Society –｜Tokyo University of Science x SDGs｜Tokyo University of Science". Tokyo University of Science x SDGs｜Tokyo University of Science. Retrieved 2026-07-21. After Mr. Shimada's speech were speeches from TUS Vice President Masato Wakayama (...)
  10. ↑ 調査報告書. 日本における数理科学とその革新：過去、現在、そして将来の展望 [RESEARCH REPORT. Mathematical Sciences and its innovation in Japan: Past, Present, and Future Prospects] (in Japanese). Center for Research and Development Strategy, Japan Science and Technology Agency. August 2025. p. 91. ISBN 978-4-88890-999-0. "若山 正人 特任フェロー" (English: Wakayama Masato. Principal Fellow{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  11. ↑ "Brilliant minds sought by NTT to tackle unsolved math problems | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis". The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 2025-07-22. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  12. ↑ "NTT has established the Institute for Fundamental MathematicsAdvancing the pace of exploration into the unexplored principles of quantum computing | Press Release | NTT". group.ntt. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  13. ↑ "The Nippon Foundation, Dwango Open ZEN University with 3,380 Students Enrolled for Fully Online Education". TNF Scholars Association. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  14. ↑ "ごあいさつ | 公益財団法人 日本数学検定協会" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  15. ↑ "Quantum Interactions — from and to Number Theory, Representation Theory, and Graph Theory". imi.kyushu-u.ac.jp. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  16. ↑ "Faculty Profiles - WAKAYAMA MASATO". strdb.s.isct.ac.jp. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  17. ↑ "Masato Wakayama | iTHEMS". ithems.riken.jp. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  18. ↑ "AIMR Advisory Board | AIMR". www.wpi-aimr.tohoku.ac.jp. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  19. ↑ "About｜Moonshot R&D". www.jst.go.jp. 2026-06-22. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  20. ↑ "Mathematics for Industry | Editorial board". SpringerLink. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  21. 1 2 "About APCMfI | About APCMfI | APCMFI". apcmfi.org. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  22. ↑ "Editorial". International Journal of Mathematics for Industry. 11 (01): 1901001. 2019. doi:10.1142/S2661335219010019. ISSN 2661-3352.
  23. ↑ Jing, Naihuan; Liu, Ming; Molev, Alexander (2025-04-04). "The q-Immanants and Higher Quantum Capelli Identities". Communications in Mathematical Physics. 406 (5): 99. doi:10.1007/s00220-025-05273-x. ISSN 1432-0916. Those coefficients were used by Noumi, Umeda and Wakayama to produce q-analogues of the classical Capelli identity.
  24. ↑ Luque, Jean-Gabriel; Thibon, Jean-Yves (2002-11-01). "Pfaffian and Hafnian identities in shuffle algebras". Advances in Applied Mathematics. 29 (4): 640. doi:10.1016/S0196-8858(02)00036-2. ISSN 0196-8858. In [9,10], Ishikawa and Wakayama prove a minor summation formula for Pfaffians:
  25. ↑ Parmeggiani, Alberto (2014-12-01). "Non-Commutative Harmonic Oscillators and Related Problems". Milan Journal of Mathematics. 82 (2): 343–387. doi:10.1007/s00032-014-0220-z. ISSN 1424-9294.
  26. ↑ Parmeggiani, Alberto (2010). "Spectral Theory of Non-Commutative Harmonic Oscillators: An Introduction". Lecture Notes in Mathematics. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-11922-4. ISSN 0075-8434.
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