Dr. Akutsu is a Senior Fellow and Professor at the National Institute for Defense Studies in Tokyo. He specializes in political and military issues on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, Japan-Australia security cooperation, and the Japan-U.S. alliance. He has been a lecturer and visiting fellow at the Australian Defense Force Academy, Sophia University in Japan, Shandong University and Qingdao University in China, and the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London. He received his Bachelor of Law and LL.M. from Keio University and his Ph.D. in political science and international relations from the Australian National University.