Harukata Takenaka is a nonresident scholar in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo.

His research focuses on Japanese politics and comparative politics, with additional expertise in international security and security policy. His core research interests include the relationship between political regimes and security policy, the evolution of Japanese security policy since the end of the Cold War, the deepening of U.S.–Japan security cooperation, and the expansion of Japan’s security relationships with European partners.

Takenaka has published widely in both English and Japanese. Notable works include Failed Democratization in Prewar Japan: Breakdown of a Hybrid Regime (Stanford University Press, 2014) and pieces in the Asian Survey, Japanese Journal of Political Science, Chūkō Shinsho, Chūō Kōron Shinsha, Chikura Shobō, and Senkyo Kenkyū.

Takenaka frequently appears in major Japanese media, including the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, Sankei Shimbun, Kyodo News, Jiji Press, NHK, BS Fuji, and BS TV Tokyo. He is a regular commentator for the digital edition of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, contributing analyses attached to selected articles. He also serves as chair of the editorial and planning committee for nippon.com, a multilingual web journal.

He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University (1998) and an LL.B. from the faculty of law, University of Tokyo (1993). Before entering academia, he worked at the Ministry of Finance (1993–1995) and later served in the Secretariat of the Reform Promotion Headquarters for Central Ministries and Agencies (1998–1999).