Tsuneharu Takeda

Tsuneharu Takeda (竹田 恒治, Takeda Tsuneharu), born on August 3, 1944, in Shinkyo, then the capital of Manchukuo, is a Japanese diplomat and former imperial prince.

He is the second son of Prince Takeda Tsuneyoshi (1909–1992), who was the second head of the Takeda-no-miya collateral branch of the Imperial Family of Japan. His mother is former Princess Sanjō Mitsuko.

At the time of his birth, Takeda was styled as a prince. However, in 1947, when he was three years old, all collateral branches of the imperial family were abolished by the American occupation authorities, and he subsequently became a commoner.

Takeda pursued higher education at Keio University, where he excelled academically and participated actively in sports, including rugby and ice hockey.

Following his graduation, Takeda married the daughter of Shigeru Okada, the president of Mitsukoshi Department Stores. They have two children.

Professionally, Takeda worked in the business sector for the general trading company Itochu during the period from 1967 to 2005. After leaving Itochu, he served as the president of Chuo Setsubi Engineering, a food processing company, from 2005 to 2007.

On August 7, 2007, Takeda was appointed as the Japanese ambassador and Plenipotentiary to Bulgaria.

External links related to his diplomatic activities include a speech delivered by Ambassador Takeda in Bulgarian.