Kitamura was a trusted advisor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on matters of national security.

In this position he was in charge of the police response to cases of North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens and worked closely with then Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe.

[1][2] Kitamura was appointed Director of Cabinet Intelligence under Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in December 2011.

In October 2018, he met with his North Korean counterparts from the United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea in Mongolia to discuss the abduction issue.

[3][4][5][6][7] Along with a cabinet reshuffle in September 2019, Kitamura was appointed Secretary General of the National Security Secretariat.

Kitamura remained in office when Shinzo Abe was replaced by Yoshihide Suga, but he retired in July 2021 due to health issues.