Nobukatsu Kanehara
Executive Director of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation
Prof Nobukatsu Kanehara is the Executive Director of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. He served as Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from 2012 to 2019. In 2013, he became the inaugural Deputy Secretary-General of the National Security Secretariat, a role which he held until he retired from government service in 2019. He also served as Deputy Director of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office. Prof Kanehara’s role in the Cabinet built on a distinguished career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served in several notable positions, including Director-General of the Bureau of International Law, Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Policy Bureau, Ambassador in charge of the United Nations and Human Rights. He served abroad as Deputy Chief of Mission in Seoul, Republic of Korea, and as Political Minister at the Embassy of Japan in Washington. He was decorated by the president of the Republic of France with l’Ordre de la Legion d’Honneur.
Updated: February 20, 2025