Ryuichi Hirano is a Counsellor at the International Strategy Group of the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity at the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan, a position he has held since 2014.
Hirano began his career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1988. In 1992, he became the Second Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Russia. He was then named Principal Deputy Director of the Ocean Division in 1997. From 1999, Hirano acted as the First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Australia, followed by the embassy in Russia in 2001. In 2003, he stayed at the Japanese embassy in Russia where he became a Counsellor. Hirano was named Senior Coordinator of the Second Middle East Division in 2004. Following this, he became Director of the Conventional Arms Division in the Disarmament, Non-proliferation and Science Department. Between 2009 and 2011, he was the Director for Operation of the Secretariat of International Peace Cooperation Headquarters at the Japanese Cabinet Office. After this he returned to the embassy in Russia as Minister-Counsellor and finally Minister in 2012, before moving to his current position.
Hirano received his B.A. from the University of Tokyo in 1988 and an M.A. from Stanford University in 1991.