PROFILE

Doctor of International Public Policy, Osaka University
In 1982, she joined the Nikon Corporation. After working as a housewife and at an eel store, she worked for the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. She also worked as a university faculty member before becoming a commissioner of the Board of Audit in 2019 at the age of 59. In 2024, she became the head of the Board of Audit, where she set five goals and devoted herself to reform before retiring in March 2025. She currently teaches civil society organization and policy theory at the University of Tokyo, where she has worked for 19 years.
She specializes in nonprofit organization theory and policy evaluation theory. While working, she earned her master's and doctoral degrees. In 1993, she invited P.F. Drucker to hold a symposium. This led her to rent a house near Drucker's home to study. This experience shaped Tanaka's expertise and beliefs. Thanks to Drucker's teachings, she was able to reform the Board of Audit as an infrastructure for fiscal democracy.