Megumi Muto

Dr. Megumi Muto is Vice President of Development Finance, Partnership, and Mobilization at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). In this role, she leads JICA’s work on blended finance transactions in partnership with other development finance institutions, multilateral development banks, and private investors. She also spearheads the institution-wide initiative for sustainability mainstreaming and disclosure and represents Japan as Vice-Chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee’s Working Party on Development Finance Statistics. Before being appointed Vice President, Dr. Muto held leadership roles at Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development and Global Environment Department. At the Ogata Institute, she successfully implemented large-scale reforms of the mission and objective of its research with an emphasis on the concept of human security, which Ms. Ogata championed. As Director General of JICA’s Global Environment Department, Dr. Muto directed the global delivery of capacity building for environment, climate, and disaster risk reduction. She initiated a comprehensive climate mainstreaming effort cutting across several other departments and developed and successfully managed board approval for JICA’s first climate strategy. Supporting the Japanese Prime Minister’s office, she played a central role in formulating the first long-term strategy for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2019. From 2010–15, she reinvigorated the cooperation portfolio with the Philippines, one of Japan’s top partner countries in overseas developmental assistance. She successfully revived the economic and social infrastructure finance programs, including new approaches for implementing public-private partnerships. Immediately after Super Typhoon Haiyan, she mobilized Japanese assistance ranging from emergency medical teams to build-back-better and successfully negotiated the post-disaster standby loan as effective risk finance. Dr. Muto has written extensively about impact evaluation and adaptation. Also co-led the preparation of a book in collaboration with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank on the impact of climate change on Asian coastal megacities. She holds a Ph.D. in Development Economics (GRIPS), an MPA (Princeton), and an Executive MBA (HEC Paris). She speaks English, Spanish and French, in addition to her native Japanese.