Koji Watanabe

Ambassador Koji Watanabe is a senior fellow at the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE), one of Japan's leading international affairs think tanks. He previously served as Japanese ambassador to Russia, Italy, and Saudi Arabia. He was also deputy minister for foreign affairs, Sherpa for the G7 Houston and London summits in 1990 and 1991, and Japanese co-chair of the US-Japan Structural Impediments Initiative Talks. Watanabe is the co-editor and author of numerous books and book chapters, including Engaging with Russia: The Next Phase and Humanitarian Intervention: The Evolving Asian Debate. As a career diplomat, Watanabe served in a variety of overseas posts, including in Beijing, and he has recently been co-chairing the China-Japan-US Trilateral Conference.