Akiko Yamanaka
山中 燁子
Official portrait, 2005
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 11 September 2005 – 21 July 2009
Preceded by	Hisayasu Nagata
Succeeded by	Yū Kuroda
Constituency	Chiba 2nd
In office 20 October 1996 – 2 June 2000
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Multi-member district
Constituency	Tōkai PR
Personal details
Born	(1945-11-06) 6 November 1945 (age 79) Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic
Other political affiliations	New Frontier
Alma mater	Tsuda College

Akiko Yamanaka (山中 あき子, Yamanaka Akiko, born November 6, 1945) is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Otaru, Hokkaido and graduate of Tsuda College, she was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1996 and later became a Special Ambassador for Peacebuilding of Japan. She was originally a member of the New Frontier Party but later joined the LDP.

Yamanaka is a Senior Diplomatic Fellow, Cambridge Central Asia Forum and By-fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge University as well as visiting professor at the Graduate School of Hokkaido University, the United Nations University and currently Tenjin Foreign Studies University. She has also been a Senior Visiting Researcher at St. Antony's College, Oxford University and at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Yamanaka has served as the Member of the House of Representatives of Japan as well as Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Director of the Committee of Foreign Affairs, Director General of the Women's Bureau of Liberal Democratic Party, etc. Her areas of expertise include International Peacebuilding and Preventive State Theory, International Negotiation and Strategic Studies, and Intercultural Studies. On these and other subjects, she has written and lectured extensively and internationally. She has published many books such as “Think, or Sink: Preventive State Theory”, “Toward the Future: Human Security”, “From the Window of Oxford”, etc. She was awarded by OISCA for ‘Contribution to Asia’ and Soroptimist Japan for ‘International Contribution’.

She has worked on Human Development for Peacebuilding, and on Human Security, especially water security, food security and energy security as well as on Natural and Human Induced Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

• 政治家情報 〜山中 あき子〜. senkyo.janjan.jp ザ･選挙 (in Japanese). JANJAN. Archived from the original on 2007-12-03. Retrieved 2007-10-16.