Kazuaki Takano (高野和明, Takano Kazuaki, born October 26, 1964) is a Japanese writer of crime fiction and thrillers. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan.

He worked for a time under the Japanese film director Kihachi Okamoto in his youth. After that he studied film at Los Angeles City College from 1989 to 1991.

His first novel Jūsan Kaidan (literally "Thirteen Steps", 2001) is a crime fiction novel which deals with the Japanese capital punishment system.