STAFF PROFILE
HITOSHI TANAKA
Chairman, Institute for International Strategy, Japan Research Institute, Ltd.; Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange
Hitoshi Tanaka is Chairman of the
Institute for International Strategy at the Japan Research Institute,
Ltd., and a senior fellow at the Japan Center for International
Exchange. Prior to joining JCIE in September 2005, Hitoshi Tanaka served
for three years as Japan’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, where
he was a top advisor to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on a broad
range of issues, including relations with North Korea, China, Russia and
the United States. As one of the main intellectual architects of
Japan’s foreign policy, he has been a key actor in shaping Japan’s
approach to East Asia. Before being named Deputy Minister, he held
various posts at the Foreign Ministry including Director-General of the
Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau and Economic Affairs Bureau; Consul
General in San Francisco; and Deputy Director-General of the North
American Affairs Bureau. In 2006–2018, he was a visiting professor at
the Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo. Mr. Tanaka
holds a BA in law from Kyoto University and BA/MA in Philosophy,
Politics, and Economics (PPE) from Oxford University. He is the author
of Mienai sensou [The invisible war] (2019: Chuokoron-Shinsha, Inc.), Nihon Gaiko No Chosen [The challenges for Japan’s diplomacy] (2015: Kadokawa Ltd.), Reimagining Japan (2011: McKinsey), Purofeshonaru no kosho-ryoku [The logic of strategic negotiation] (2009: Kodansha Ltd.), and Gaiko no chikara [The power of diplomacy] (2009: Nikkei Publishing Inc.), and also JCIE’s policy brief series, East Asia Insights.