Dr Inoue started his professional career as pediatric resident in Tokyo and then served as a field officer in rural Philippines while working for the Maternal and Child Health program. After post-graduate study in public health, specializing in global health, Dr Inoue joined Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 1996, where he acquired a wide range of technical experience in public health, including hospital management, health insurance, pharmaceutical regulation, infectious disease control, and others. He has previously worked for WHO as a Senior Advisor to the Director-General to assist the Director-General on high-level political engagement across WHO’s operational clusters, as well as the Special Representative for Antimicrobial Resistance. Before taking the current position, he served as Director General, Bureau of Strategic Planning, National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM).