Wataru Takahashi is a Professor at Osaka University of Economics and a Research Fellow at the Research Institute of Economics and Business Administration (RIEB) at Kobe University. He obtained an MPhil in economics from Oxford University in 1984.

Previously, he worked at the Bank of Japan for 35 years, including as advisor on international affairs to Governor from 2002 to 2006, responsible for financial cooperation between central banks in East Asia and economic research on the global economy. He was also Director General of the Bank of Japan think tank, the Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies.