PROFILE

Tokutaro Nakai was born in 1962. Upon graduation from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo in 1985, he joined the Ministry of Finance. After serving as First Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in the UK (Toyama Prefecture), Director of the Living Environment Division and Director of the Public Relations Office (Ministry of Finance), professor at the Institute of Medical Science (University of Tokyo,) Planning Officer (Financial Bureau), and Budget Officer (Ministry of Finance), he joined the Ministry of the Environment in July 2011 after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Mr. Nakai served as Director of the Accounting Division, Director of the Secretariat Division, Director of the Waste and Recycling Division, and Director-General for Comprehensive Environmental Policy before being named Vice-Minister of the Environment in July 2020. He has been deeply committed to the Regional Circulatory Symbiosis Sphere Initiative, the 2050 carbon neutral targets, and the promotion of carbon pricing. After retiring in July 2022, he has served as an executive advisor to Nippon Steel Corporation and as a representative director of the Millennium Sustainability Foundation.