Biography
Dr Ken Jimbo is a Managing Director of Programs at the International House of Japan (IHJ/I-House) and a Professor of International Relations at Keio University. He is concurrently an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS).
He served as a Special Advisor to the Japan Ministry of Defense in 2020 and Senior Advisor to the National Security Secretariat from 2018 to 2020.
His main research interests lie in International Security, Japan-US Security Relations, and Japan’s Foreign and Defense Policy.
He has served as a policy advisor for various Japanese governmental commissions and research groups, including the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. His policy writings have been published by the RAND Corporation, NBR, the Stimson Center, the Pacific Forum CSIS, Japan Times, Nikkei, Yomiuri, Asahi, and Sankei Shimbun.
Past experience
| 2026–Present | Co-Director, Research Institute for Advanced Innovation and GeoStrategy (RAIS) |
| 2026–Present | Associate Fellow, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House |
| 2026–Present | Senior Research Fellow, Foreign and Security Policy Unit, The Canon Institute for Global Studies |
| 2024–Present | Senior Associate Research Fellow, ISPI Center on Asia, The Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) |
| 2022–Present | Managing Director, International House of Japan |
| 2018–Present | Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University |
| 2025–2026 | Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Tokyo Foundation |
| 2011–2025 | Senior Research Fellow, The Canon Institute for Global Studies |
| 2019–2020 | Visiting Professor, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University |
| 2018–2020 | Special Advisor, National Security Secretariat |
| 2009–2018 | Associate Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University |
| 2015 | Visiting Associate Professor, Program in Japan Studies, National Chengchi University |
| 2012 | Visiting Researcher, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University |
| 2007–2009 | Associate Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University |
| 2005–2007 | Assistant Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University |
| 2003–2004 | Director of Research, The Japan Forum on International Relations |
| 1999–2003 | Research Fellow, Center for Asia-Pacific, The Japan Institute of International Affairs |