Mr. Takahashi Yasuo graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, and in 1983, he joined the Environment Agency of Japan (the current Ministry of the Environment). He held key positions at the Ministry including Director of the Climate Policy Division, Director General of the Headquarters for Environmental Restoration of Fukushima, Director General of the Environmental Management Bureau, and Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs. After retiring from the Ministry in 2019, he was appointed Senior Advisor for the Ministry, and joined IGES in January 2020 as Special Policy Advisor. He has served as Executive Director of IGES since November 2020.