Tetsuya Watanabe

Tetsuya Watanabe is the President of ERIA (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN andEast Asia), an international organization located in Jakarta, Indonesia. Before joining ERIA,he was the Special Advisor to the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry. In hispublic service career of over 30 years, Watanabe has held the positions of Director Generalfor the Trade Policy at the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and Counsellorof the TPP Headquarters at the Cabinet Secretariat, where he was engaged in Japan’s majortrade policy initiatives and negotiations in the TPP, RCEP, Japan-US Trade Agreement,Japan-UK Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and the WTO Reforms, among others. Hehas also served as Vice President of the Research Institute of Economy, Trade, and Industry(RIETI), one of Japan’s most prominent policy think tanks. Watanabe is an alumnus of theUniversity of Tokyo and Columbia Law School. *ERIA is an International Organizationestablished by the Leaders of East Asia Summit (EAS) Member countries in 2008. ERIAprovides research and policy support to governments, businesses, and civil society in theASEAN and East Asia region. ERIA works closely with the ASEAN Secretariat and othermultilateral organizations