| Joined the Ministry of Home Affairs, 1975 |
| Director, Hospital Administration Division, Yamagata Prefecture, 1981 |
| Director, Municipality Division, Yamagata Prefecture, 1984 |
| Associate Professor, GSPS, Saitama University, 1985 |
| Deputy Director, Local Public Service Personnel Department, Local Administration Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, 1988 |
| Director, Research Department, Local Autonomy College, 1990 |
| Director, Finance and Budget Division, Osaka Prefecture, 1992 |
| Director, the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), Singapore, 1994 |
| Professor, Faculty of Law, Hokkaido University, 1999 |
| Director, Research Office, Japan Center for Cities, 2002 |
| Visiting Professor, GRIPS, 2002 |
| Professor, GRIPS, 2004 |
| Director of Institute for Comparative Studies in Local Governance, GRIPS, 2007 |