Shinichi Kitaoka

Shinichi Kitaoka
北岡 伸一
Special Adviser to the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 2022
President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency
In office
1 October 2015 – 31 March 2022
Preceded byAkihiko Tanaka
Succeeded byAkihiko Tanaka
President of the International University of Japan
In office
2012 – September 30, 2015
Preceded byMasakatsu Mori
Succeeded byKimio Kase
Personal details
Born (1948-04-20) April 20, 1948 (age 76)
Yoshino, Nara, Japan
Nationality Japanese
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo

Shinichi Kitaoka (北岡 伸一, Kitaoka Shin'ichi, born 20 April 1948) is a Japanese political scientist. He has held many roles such as the president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), president of the International University of Japan, professor at Japan's GRIPS-Tokyo School of Security and International Studies, and Japanese ambassador to the United Nations. His area of expertise is the history of Japanese politics and diplomacy, as a political scientist and a historian.

Early life

Kitaoka was born in Yoshino, Nara Prefecture. His family owned a sake brewing business and both his father and grandfather had served as the mayor of Yoshino.[1] His great uncle was Juitsu Kitaoka, economist and former official of the Ministry of Labor.[2]

Kitaoka graduated with a B.L. in June 1971 and received his Ph.D. of Law from the University of Tokyo in September 1976. While studying at the University of Tokyo he lived at the all-male dormitory Wakeijuku.[3]

Career

Kitaoka took a lecturership at Rikkyo University; he became a full professor there in 1985. In 1997, he moved to a position at the University of Tokyo.

In 2004, he was appointed as Japan's ambassador and deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, a position he held until 2006 when he returned to academia.[4][5][6]

In 2006-2010, Kitaoka was the Japanese chair of the Japan-China Joint History Research Committee. Among other topics, the committee investigated the Nanking Massacre.[7] From 2009-2010, he chaired a Ministry of Foreign Affairs committee on the so-called Secret Agreements between the U.S. and Japan on the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory.

Kitaoka was the Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Panel on Reconstruction of the Legal Basis for Security, an advisory panel to Prime Minister Abe on the possibility of re-interpreting constitutional provisions to allow for collective self-defense.

Awards

In 2011 he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon for his academic contributions.[8]

Publications

Japanese language

  • Nishitaiheiyō rengō no susume: Nihon no "atarashii chiseigaku". Tokyo: Tōyō Keizai. 2021.
  • Meiji Ishin no imi. Tokyo: Shinchosha. 2020.
  • Sekai chizu o yominaosu: Kyōryoku to kinkō no chiseigaku. Tokyo: Shinchosha. 2019.
  • Nihonseijishi: Gaikō to kenryoku zōho-ban. Tokyo: Yuhikaku. 2017.
  • Kanryō-sei toshite no Nipponrikugun. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo. 2012.
  • Jimintō: Seiken tō no 38-nen. Tokyo: Chuokoron-Shinsha. 2008.
  • Kokuren no seiji rikigaku: Nihon wa doko ni iru no ka. Tokyo: Chuokoron-Shinsha. 2007.
  • Kiyosawa Kiyoshi zōho-ban: Gaikō hyōron no unmei. Tokyo: Chuokoron-Shinsha. 2004.

English translations

References

  1. ^ "私と司馬さん 歴史の道を走り回った高校時代 北岡伸一さん". Shukan Asahi. Asahi Shimbun. 2012-12-28. p. 99.
  2. ^ "「官より民」で世界めざせ JICA理事長 北岡伸一さん（もっと関西）". The Nikkei (in Japanese). 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  3. ^ "全共闘ストを尻目に学問に没頭、Jica理事長が語る和敬塾の思い出".
  4. ^ Biography of Kitaoka[dead link‍], White Rose East Asia Center.
  5. ^ Japan Names Tokyo Univ. Prof. Kitaoka as U.N. Amb., Jiji Press, April 2, 2004
  6. ^ Permanent mission of Japan to the United Nations: About us https://web.archive.org/web/20110606115828/http://www.un.int/japan/aboutus/kitaoka.htm, retrieved August 18, 2008.
  7. ^ Leow, Jason (August 3, 2007), "Nanking efforts examine massacre, seek healing", The Wall Street Journal
  8. ^ "Profile of JICA President | About JICA | JICA".