Akio Hosono is Senior Research Advisor of JICA Research Institute (JICA-RI). He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Tokyo. He served as Vice-President at Tsukuba University in Tsukuba Science City, Japanese Ambassador to El Salvador, Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo, Professor at the Research Institute of Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University, and Professor at the Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences, Tsukuba University. He became a Senior Advisor at Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2007. He served as Director of JICA-RI from 2011 to 2013.

Hosono was an event speaker at the Dialogue.