Yasunaga is an active chamber musician and soloist, and was a member of the Berlin Philharmonic from 1977, serving as concertmaster from 1983 until his retirement from the orchestra in March 2009.

[1][2] Tōru Yasunaga was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan in 1951.

In 1974, Yasunaga graduated from Toho Gakuen School of Music, and later studied at the Berlin University of the Arts.

In 1977, he joined the Berlin Philharmonic, and in 1983, he was appointed by Herbert von Karajan to be first concertmaster of the orchestra.

[4] That same year, he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstkreuz am Bande) for his contributions to music and culture.