Junichiro Koji is an Associate Professor at the Department of International and Regional Studies, Hokkaido University of Education (HUE) in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science specializing in Canadian Studies (University of Ottawa). Before joining HUE, he worked at the City of Montreal as a research officer in youth policy and the Japanese Embassy in Canada as a political analyst. His current research focuses on immigration and diversity management policy and governance in small centres and rural areas both in Canada and Japan. His other research interests include local and regional development policy, local citizenship, and university-community partnership in the two countries. His recent publications describe the recent evolution of immigration policy in Canada and Quebec to the Japanese audience.

Junichiro is also actively engaged in different community development initiatives. He has been involved in a project to attract and retain foreign workers in Hakodate. In addition, he is a co-founder of the Rainbow Hakodate Project, a university-community partnership project to build an LGBTQ+-friendly community in Southern Hokkaido. He also supports local development policy planning and implementation for the Town of Esashi, a small municipality close to Hakodate. Since 2023, he has been an advisor for the Hokkaido Comprehensive Development Committee.