Kaoru TAKARA serves as President of National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) since 2023. He also holds positions as Professor Emeritus of Kyoto University, Associate Member of Science Council of Japan (SCJ), Chair of SCJ Subcommittee on IRDR, Chair of IRDR ICoE-Coherence, and Executive Director of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL). He received his B. Eng. (1979), M. Sc. (1981) and D. Eng. (1990) degrees from Kyoto University. His main research interests have been on hydrological analysis using extreme-value theory and advanced modeling of river basins and disaster risk governance. He is former Director of the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI) and Dean of Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (GSAIS) of Kyoto University. He published a series of co-authored books, peer-reviewed papers in academic journals, and articles in annuals, journals, and international conferences. He has significantly contributed to promoting international research activities through key initiatives, including the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), ICL and the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI). He had also taken central roles in the establishment of Japan-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Platform (JASTIP) and UNECO Chair on Water, Energy and Disaster Management for Sustainable Development (WENDI) at Kyoto University. As an educator, he has produced 48 doctors from Japan, Asia-Pacific countries, and other regions such as Brazil, Croatia, and Tanzania. He received a number of notable awards, including Long-Term Contribution Award from UNESCO-IHP Regional Steering Committee for Southeast Asia and the Pacific in 2015, Distinguished Contribution Award from Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) in 2022 and Distinguished Contribution Award from Japan Society of Hydrology and Water Resources (JSHWR) in 2023. He also serves as President of the Japan High School Baseball Federation (JHBF) since 2021.