PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Yutaka Matsuo

Also known as 松尾豊, Matsuo Yutaka

Yutaka Matsuo is a University of Tokyo professor who researches deep learning and generative AI and has chaired the Japanese government's AI Strategy Council since 2023. Born in Sakaide, Kagawa, he earned a PhD in engineering at the University of Tokyo in 2002, worked at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and became a visiting scholar at Stanford University in 2005. His 2010 paper on Twitter users as earthquake sensors, coauthored with Takeshi Sakaki and Makoto Okazaki, received the Seoul Test of Time Award in 2022. In 2017, he became chairman of the Japan Deep Learning Association. He is a professor in the Department of Technology Management for Innovation at the University of Tokyo and, since February 2026, a member of the United Nations Independent International Scientific Panel on AI.

Now at
University of Tokyo, AI Strategy Council, Panasonic and United Nations
Works
500
Citations
12,200
h-index
47
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1997–2002

    Studies at the University of Tokyo

    Born in Sakaide, Kagawa, he studies information and communication engineering at the University of Tokyo and graduates in 1997. In 2002, he earns a PhD in engineering there and receives the Best Paper Award of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence.

  2. 2002–2007

    Research at AIST and Stanford

    He becomes a researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in April 2002 and a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Center for the Study of Language and Information in August 2005. In October 2007, he returns to the University of Tokyo as an associate professor in the Graduate School of Engineering.

  3. 2010

    Twitter users as earthquake sensors

    He coauthors "Earthquake shakes Twitter users: Real-time event detection by social sensors" with Takeshi Sakaki and Makoto Okazaki, first presented at the 19th International World Wide Web Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, in April 2010. By monitoring the Japan Twitter feed, the authors detect 96% of serious earthquakes and alert subscribers faster than the Japan Meteorological Agency could at the time.

  4. 2017

    Japan Deep Learning Association chair

    The Japan Deep Learning Association is established in June 2017 to promote the competitiveness of Japan's industries, and he becomes its chairman.

  5. 2019

    Professor and SoftBank director

    In April 2019, he becomes a professor in the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Engineering. In June 2019, he joins the SoftBank Group board as an external director.

  6. 2022

    Seoul Test of Time Award

    In 2022, the International World Wide Web Conference Committee selects the Twitter earthquake paper for its Seoul Test of Time Award. The committee notes that the paper has more than 5030 citations.

  7. 2023–2024

    Chairing Japan's AI Strategy Council

    In 2023, he becomes chair of the Japanese government's AI Strategy Council, which develops domestic rules for AI. In 2024, he also chairs the AI Institutional Study Group and the Tokyo AI Strategy Council of the Tokyo Metropolis.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and UN panel member

    He is a professor in the Department of Technology Management for Innovation at the University of Tokyo, with research on artificial intelligence, deep learning and generative AI. In June 2025, he joins the board of Panasonic Holdings as a director, and in February 2026, the United Nations General Assembly appoints him to the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI for a three-year term.

Career

  1. Since 2026United NationsMember
  2. Since 2025PanasonicDirector
  3. Since 2023AI Strategy CouncilChair
  4. Since 2007University of TokyoAssociate Professor
  5. From 2024AI Institutional Study GroupChair
  6. From 2024Tokyo AI Strategy CouncilChair
  7. From 2019SoftBank GroupExternal Director
  8. From 2017Japan Deep Learning AssociationChairman
  9. 2006–2007Research Organization of Information and Systems
  10. 2005–2007Stanford UniversityVisiting Scholar
  11. 2002–2007National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and TechnologyResearcher
  12. 2001–2006Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
  13. 1995–1998Kyoto University

Education

  1. 2002University of TokyoPhD
  2. 1997University of Tokyo

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Yutaka Matsuo. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Yutaka Matsuo. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  3. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public rolesIncludes Yutaka Matsuo. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public roles. Another 97 people moved from public careers into AI organizations or research, with 62% of dated records starting from 2020 on.
  4. People shaping AI work at a median of 3 organizations over a career: 3 for university starters and institute and lab starters, versus 2 for company startersIncludes University of Tokyo. Across 6,853 people shaping AI with a dated work role, we estimate a median of 3 parent organizations over a career (mean 3.6), comparing role groups, starting sectors and starting decades from the 1950s to 2020–2026.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Yutaka Matsuo yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Yutaka Matsuo - Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory, The University of Tokyo - Matsuo Lab weblab.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Yutaka Matsuo - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Event information - NobelPrize.org nobelprize.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Biography: Yutaka Matsuo | SoftBank Group Corp. group.softbank. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Seoul Test of Time Award – TheWebConf 2022 www2022.thewebconf.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. About JDLA - Japan Deep Learning Association jdla.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Generative AI and Japanese Initiatives (Dr. Yutaka Matsuo, Professor, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo) | Foreign Press Center Japan (FPCJ) fpcj.jp. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Prof. Yutaka Matsuo has been appointed as a member of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI - Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory, The University of Tokyo - Matsuo Lab weblab.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp. Checked 20 October 2026.