Ambassador Takasu was educated at the University of Tokyo (Faculty of Law) and Oxford University (Merton College). He joined Japan’s diplomatic service in 1969, subsequently served in various overseas posts (London, Kuala Lumpur, New York, Jakarta, Vienna, and Washington, DC).

From 1981 to 1988, Mr. Takasu served at the Japanese Mission to the United Nations as First Secretary and later as Counsellor. During this period, he served as a member of the ACABQ.

At the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, he was responsible for Japan’s policy toward Western Europe (Director of Western Europe Division, 1989-92). During the Gulf crisis, Ambassador Takasu was in charge of formulating Japan’s contribution to the international efforts, including drafting UN Peacekeeping Cooperation Law.

Mr. Takasu served as Deputy Chief of Mission, Minister of the Embassy of Japan in Indonesia in 1992-93.

In September 1993, Mr. Takasu was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as Assistant Secretary-General, Controller of the United Nations in New York. During over three and a half years at the UN Secretariat, he was responsible for budget and financial management of the UN, including peacekeeping operations. He also held additional senior assignments in the UN Secretariat in this period.

Since early 1997, Ambassador Takasu assumed the port of Japan’s Ambassador to the United Nations and represented Japan on the Security Council (1997098) and other UN conferences and meetings for three years.

In April 2000, Ambassador Takasu was posted in Tokyo and assumed the post of Director-General for the Multilateral Cooperation Department. In his capacity, Ambassador Takasu assisted in hosting the G8 Okinawa Summit and he was instrumental in promoting Japan’s initiative for human security and launching the Commission for Human Security.

From December 2001 to September 2005, Ambassador Takasu served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Permanent Mission of Japan to International Organizations (IAEA, Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO, UNIDO and other United Nations bodies located in Vienna). During this period, Ambassador Takasu served as President of the General Conference of IAEA, Chairman of Prepcom for the CTBTO among others.

Since September 2005, Mr. Takasu served as Ambassador in charge of Human Security, Science and Technology Cooperation, and Special Envoy for UN Reform and initiated the formation of the Friends of Human Security, and informal forum to promote human security approaches in UN activities. Ambassador Takasu spent the 2006/07 academic year as a visiting fellow at Harvard University, concurrently attached to the Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC.

In July 2007, Mr. Takasu was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations. He presented his letter of credence to the Secretary-General on August 28, 2007.