Wataru Takeshita (竹下 亘, Takeshita Wataru, November 3, 1946 – September 17, 2021) was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.

A native of Kakeya, Shimane and graduate of Keio University he was elected for the first time in 2000.

Before entering politics in 2000, Takeshita was a reporter with NHK, then began working for his brother as an aide in 1985.

[1] He was the leader of the Heisei Kenkyukai faction from 2018 until his death 3 years later,[2] which supported Yoshihide Suga in the 2020 Liberal Democratic Party of Japan leadership election.

[5] In July 2021, Takeshita announced that he would be retiring from politics at the next general election for health reasons, having been diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2019.