Mr. Yasuo Tanabe is the Executive Officer in charge of Government and External Relations for the Hitachi Group appointed on April 1 in 2011. Before joining Hitachi, Ltd. in June 2010, he served in the Japanese government for thirty-two years. Starting with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, which was later reorganized as the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, he has covered a wide range of policies such as trade, energy, and environment.
He has represented the Japanese government for many international organizations such as the International Energy Agency. He was Vice President of the Research Institute of Economy, Trade, and Industry, a METI-affiliated think-tank. During his tenure as Deputy Director-General for Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was Chief Negotiator/Deputy Chief Negotiator for many Economic Partnership Agreements with ASEAN countries and Switzerland. He has written a book "Asia Energy Partnership" and many articles on energy issues.
Mr. Tanabe has a BA in Law from the University of Tokyo (1978) and MA in International Relations from Stanford University (1985). He is married and has a daughter and a son.