Akira Watanabe (渡辺 明, Watanabe Akira, born 15 December 1954)[1] is a retired Japanese racing driver.
Watanabe first began competing in 1975 in the Fuji Freshman Race.
He is a noted touring car racing specialist, winning multiple championships in Super Taikyu and the Civic Inter Cup.
[1] He competed in a round of the 1988 Japanese Formula 3 Championship at Sendai Hi-Land Raceway but failed to qualify; he would be replaced by Hisashi Wada for the next round.
[citation needed] Watanabe first competed in Super GT in 1985 but did not race full-time until 1998; in that year, he drove a Toyota Cavalier for KRAFT.