OBAYASHI Masanori was appointed as Director-General of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on 5 January 2023.

Mr. Obayashi earned a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Tokyo in 1985 before starting work at JMA. He previously served the Agency as Deputy Director-General for Disaster Mitigation of JMA (2022 – 2023), Director-General of the Atmosphere and Ocean Department (2020 – 2022) and Director-General of the Global Environment and Marine Department (2019 – 2020).

He has worked extensively with JMA in the management of meteorological services with particular focus on observation. In recent years he has dedicated himself to the development of regional disaster mitigation capacity across Japan based on enhanced relations with municipal governments. Throughout his career, he has also actively participated in international activities within the frameworks of WMO, the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee and UNESCO/IOC. His work has focused on international activities, including a spell with the Dominican Republic’s Oficina Nacional de Meteorologia from 1992 to 1994 as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Mr. Obayashi’s inauguration address emphasized JMA’s Vision for Meteorological Services in 2030, which embraces the concept of such services for dynamic and extensive application toward public safety, disaster resiliency and societal function. Particular focus was placed on the promotion of R&D in relation to heavy rainfall, typhoons and other extreme weather events, and on the importance of enhanced interaction with municipalities and people in local areas. In this context, trust between such partners and JMA is set as a cornerstone of public disaster mitigation capacity as a whole.