Our Leadership

President

Yasushi Kudo

Yasushi Kudo is the founder and president of The Genron NPO, a Tokyo-based independent think tank established in 2001. Under Mr. Kudo's leadership, The Genron NPO has strived and conducted various policy research programs, including evaluations of the government's policy performance and political parties' campaign pledges for general elections. The Genron NPO is currently one of the most prominent policy discussion platforms in Japan. More than 500 opinion leaders and experts in Japan participate in its solution-oriented discussions and initiatives addressing the pressing issues Japan face today and policy issues in Asia and the world. The Genron NPO actively engages in the wide-ranging public dissemination of the fruits of its discussions and frequently makes recommendations to the Japanese government and to the international community.

Mr. Kudo also initiated several influential Track II diplomacy initiatives and international conferences with The Genron NPO. In 2005, when China-Japan relations were in turmoil, he established a high-level Track II dialogue between Japan and China, the "Tokyo-Beijing Forum." This forum is the only platform that has continued for the past two decades even in difficult times and has influenced policymaking in both Japan and China, continuing even during periods when official relations were frozen. He also initiated the "Japan-Korea Future Dialogue" between Japan and South Korea in 2013. These annual fora have become some of the most influential non-governmental-organization-led discussion platforms in Northeast Asia. They have persisted even during times when governmental diplomacy was at a standstill due to bilateral feuds. Drawing on these foundations and other Track II dialogues with experts from the United States, The Genron NPO established the Asia Peace Conference in 2020, a new multinational platform involving Japan, the United States, China, and South Korea to undertake the historic challenge of developing a peace order in inherently unstable Northeast Asia.

Mr. Kudo is an active participant in and leader of intellectual efforts in the field of international order and global governance. Since 2012, he has served as the sole member from Japan of the Council of Councils, an international initiative of the Council on Foreign Relations dedicated to the debate on global governance and formed by the world's top foreign policy think tanks. In 2017, in cooperation with ten leading think tanks, Mr. Kudo established the "Tokyo Conference," a high-level platform that brings together key global leaders to share ideas and propose policy solutions for pressing international challenges and better global governance.

Prior to the establishment of The Genron NPO, he was editor-in-chief of "Financial Business," a monthly financial magazine, and "Debate, Toyo-Keizai," Japan's leading issue-oriented magazine. He has a Master's degree in Economics from Yokohama City University.

Advisory Board

Yasushi Akashi
Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General

Hiromichi Iwasa
Executive Advisor, Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd

Mistuo Ohashi
President of the World Federalist Movement of Japan

Kazuo Ogoura
Senior Advisor, Japan Foundation; former Ambassador to the Republic of Korea

Yoriko Kawaguchi
Emerita Fellow, Faculty of Global Studies of Musashino
University/ Former Minister of Foreign Affairs

Takeshi Kunibe
Special Advisor, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.

Hiroshi Shimizu
Chairman of Nippon Life Insurance Company

Shinsuke Sugiyama
Former Ambassador to the USA;
Former Vice Foreign Minister

Akihiko Tanaka
President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Toshiaki Higashihara
Director, Executive Chairman, Representative Executive Officer, Hitachi,
Ltd.

Masayuki Hyodo
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sumitomo Corporation

Ichiro Fujisaki
President of the America Japan Society; former Ambassador to the USA

Hiroya Masuda
Director and executive officer, Japan Post Holdings Co., Ltd.

Takashi Matsumoto
President, Federation of National Public Service Personnel Mutual Aid Associations

Yuji Miyamoto
Chairman of Miyamoto Institute of Asian Research;
Former Ambassador to the People's Republic of China

Kanetsugu Mike
Senior Advisor, MUFG Bank, Ltd.

Toshiro Muto
Honorary Chairman of Daiwa Institute of Research,;
Former Deputy Governor, Bank of Japan

Yuzaburo Mogi
Honorary CEO and Chairman of the Board, Kikkoman Corporation

Osamu Watanabe
Special Advisor, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd.
(JAPEX)

Seiichi Kondo
Director, Kondo Institute for Culture & Diplomacy;
Former Commissioner, Agency of Cultural Affairs

Board of Directors

Chair of the Board:
Yasushi Kudo
Founder and President of The Genron NPO

Yaichiro Aizawa
Former National President of the Junior Chamber International Japan

Yukako Uchinaga
Chief Executive Officer, Global Research Institute (Japan)

Shigeaki Okamoto
Former Vice-Minister of Finance, Ministry of Finance

Tatsuo Tanaka
Japan Chair, Apollo Global Management, Inc.

Tadamichi Yamamoto
Former Special Representative of theSecretary-General,
Former Under Secretary General,United Nations

Kyoya Kawanishi
President of K&S Accounting Office

Yuho Nishimura
Director of International Department, The Genron NPO

Auditor:
Tomomichi Tomiie
Executive Manager of Operation and Systems Department and
Corporate Strategy Department of the Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co.,
Ltd.