Prof. Takeuchi was born in 1951 in Wakayama, Japan. He graduated from the Department of Geography, the University of Tokyo in 1974. He obtained M.Agr. and PhD from the Graduate School of Agriculture, the University of Tokyo. He served as a Lecturer at the Faculty of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, an Associate Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, a Professor, Asian Natural Environmental Science Center, a Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Science at the University of Tokyo and as Director and Professor, Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S) at the University of Tokyo. He also served as a Vice-Rector and Senior Vice-Rector at United Nations University from 2008 to 2016 and as an Assistant Secretary-General at the United Nations from 2013 to 2016. From 2016, he has served as a Senior Visiting Professor at United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). He was Director and a Project Professor of IR3S at the University of Tokyo from 2017 to 2019. He has served as President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) since July 2017. He took up the position as Project Professor of the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI) at the University of Tokyo in April 2019. He has served, inter alia, as the Chair of the Central Environmental Council, Government of Japan, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Sustainability Science (Springer Nature), and Distinguished Chair, Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi.
He received the Ichimura Prize in Science against Global Warming for Distinguished Achievement in 2019, Otto Soemarwoto Award (Indonesia) in 2018, Japan Prize of Agricultural Science in 2017, Ishikawa Award of the City Planning Institute of Japan in 1994, Award of the Association of Rural Planning, Japan in 1994, and Award of the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture in 1980. He specializes in landscape ecology, environmental studies, and sustainability science. He engages in research and outreach activities on creating eco-friendly environments for a harmonious coexistence of people and nature, especially focusing on Asia and Africa. Recently, he has been working toward establishing a global foundation for developing the field of sustainability science aiming to build a sustainable society. He is deeply involved in the SATOYAMA initiative, aiming at the restoration and revitalization of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes around the world, and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) initiated by FAO. The following is a list of his recently edited books ― Biofuels and Sustainability: Holistic Perspective for Policy-making, Springer Japan, 265pp, 2018; Resilient Asia: Fusion of Traditional and Modern Systems for Sustainable Future, Springer Japan, 196pp., 2018; Strategies for Building Resilience against Climate and Ecosystem Changes in Sub-Saharan Africa, Springer Japan, 343pp., 2017.
