Yusuke Tanaka

Yusuke Tanaka is a global affiliate visiting scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) for 2026-27.

During university, Tanaka participated in a scholarship program aimed at developing individuals who would contribute to Japan. He studied the institutional design of social decision-making and consensus-building, as well as human development, and earned B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees in civil engineering from the University of Tokyo.

Through studying alongside international students and gaining experience abroad, he developed a broader goal of helping make both Japan and the world more prosperous by using Japanese technologies and businesses to address shared challenges. With this goal in mind, he joined Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in 2012.

At METI, Tanaka has worked on industrial and technology policy as well as the institutional and human capital foundations that support them. His experience includes renewable energy, manufacturing startups, autonomous driving, labor and education reform, reskilling, and automotive industrial policy.

Drawing on these experiences, at APARC he will research how industrial and human capital policies can be designed in an integrated manner as technological innovation reshapes industries, supply chains, skill requirements, and labor markets.