Hitoshi Tanaka



Hitoshi 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 (JCIE). Prior to joining JCIE in September 2005, he served for three years as Japan’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs where Hitoshi 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, Hitoshi 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 2006-18, he was a visiting professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo.

Hitoshi 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 English newsletter, East Asia Insights ( http://www.jcie.or.jp/insights/ ). Twitter: @TanakaDiplomat

Links for Hitoshi Tanaka
Bulletin of August 2, 2021


This page last modified September 25, 2021 rmj