Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC)

CHRISTOPHER PABLO is Senior Urban Specialist and Team Lead of TDLC. Before joining TDLC, he was based in Jerusalem, leading the urban program in West Bank and Gaza. Chris has years of experience in the Bank in lending and analytical work spanning municipal finance, city development strategies, metropolitan planning, slum upgrading, local economic development, urban transport, tourism, and resilience. Before his West Bank and Gaza assignment, he was in Dhaka, Bangladesh, leading the work on municipal infrastructure and governance improvements and non-lending technical assistance on local service delivery. Prior to his South Asia Region assignment, Chris was in the Manila office leading municipal finance operations, urban transport, and slum upgrading projects. Before joining the Bank, Chris worked in the Philippines National Economic Planning Agency. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics.

HARUKA MIKI is an Operations Officer for the World Bank TDLC. Haruka has been connecting the latest local urban experiences and knowledge with the cities worldwide to be more livable. Haruka is a seasoned urban professional whose focuses include Urban Regeneration (Waterfront Revitalization, Transit-oriented Development, and Land Value Capture), Solid Waste Management, and Water and Sewerage. Throughout her career, Haruka has worked in knowledge sharing and technical assistance in South Asia, East Asia and Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and more recently in Africa. Before joining the Bank, she worked at Morgan Stanley Securities (Finance Controller for the Real Estate Securitization and Municipal Bond) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (Researcher for Climate Change and Cities). Haruka holds Dual Master's degrees in Public Administration (MPA) from the London School of Economics (LSE) and the Paris Institute of Political Science (Sciences-Po), and a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from Hitotsubashi University.

SHOKO TAWARA is a Program Officer at the World Bank Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC). Her core areas of engagement include the design, development, and implementation of knowledge activities and partnerships. Prior to joining TDLC, Shoko was Assistant Manager in project management at an international consultancy firm, where she oversaw budget/contract management and resource mobilization for large-scale infrastructure projects. Her project portfolio includes consultancy for design and construction supervision projects in rail, bridge, and shipbuilding in India and the Philippines. She also was a Sales Consultant for a SaaS company providing media and brand monitoring solutions to public relations and marketing executives in Japan and Korea. Shoko has a BA in political science from Northwestern University and an MA in international affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). 

SHIN TANABE co-leads TDLC’s Technical Deep Dives and City Partnership Program, supporting the design, development, and implementation of Technical Deep Dives and other international knowledge exchange programs. Before joining the Bank, Shin worked with a Japanese nonprofit organization offering human resource development in developing countries; a global recruitment firm; and a private university in Japan, focusing on global talent acquisition and development. He has also developed a variety of knowledge exchange programs in collaboration with local and international stakeholders. Shin holds an MA in political science from the University of Toronto and BAs in political science from Amherst College in Massachusetts and International Christian University in Tokyo. He is a certified Instructional Designer.

Rieko Kubota is a Program Officer at TDLC. She brings over two decades of expertise in sustainability initiatives in developing countries, with a particular focus on solid waste management, circular economy, plastic pollution, environmental governance, and climate change adaptation within urban environments. 

Joining the Bank in 2020 as a Senior Environmental Engineer in Washington D.C., Rieko leads and supports waste management and circular economy projects in the ASEAN and European regions. Her prior experience includes research, policy advisory, and project management at Japan's National Institute for Environmental Studies and JICA, where she also contributed as an expert in ISO standardization on waste agenda. Currently, Rieko is pursuing a Ph.D. in institutional economics in PPP projects from The University of Tokyo. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, reading, pottery, and organizing Japanese tea ceremonies.

ASAMI OTSUKA is TDLC’s Program Assistant. She interfaces and communicates with individuals at all levels of the organization, managing general affairs (office administration, finance, human resources), coordinating operational support, and assisting the Program Manager. Prior to joining the World Bank, Asami gained experience in both the private sector and in international diplomatic organizations as an executive assistant at Edenred Japan, a major employee benefit service provider, and at the Honduran Embassy in Tokyo. Having lived for 15 years in Latin America, Asami is proficient in Spanish as well as Japanese and English. She holds a BA in English literature from Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo.