Biography

Yuto Ota is a second-year Ph.D. candidate in Political Science, specializing in political economy at UCLA, a consulting fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, and a Certified Public Accountant in Washington State.

Prior to joining the PhD program, he worked for six years at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan as a Deputy Director, where he drafted key industrial policies, including the “GX Promotion Act” and the “Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Act.” His research spans state responses to economic shocks, corporate political strategies, public attitudes toward energy transitions, geopolitical dimensions of global supply chains, and the use of Large Language Models to mediate polarizing policy preferences.

Honors & Awards

– UCLA Swarr Prize for Best Graduate Student Paper in Political Science, “When Energy Crises Go Green: Import Vulnerability and Public Support for Decarbonization,” 2025-2026
– Dean’s Prize Finalist and recipient of the International Student Office Grant, UCLA Undergraduate Research Week, 2017
– UCLA Dean’s Honors List in Fall 2016, Winter 2017, and Spring 2017