Mr. Kazuhiro Nakai
Consul General of Japan in Miami
Prior to Miami, he was posted in Geneva as Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Japanese Delegation to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva from July 2018 to August 2021.
There, he represented Japan in various disarmament meetings and also served as Chairperson of the Meeting of Experts of the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (2019-2021).
Having joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985, he has extensive experience in security, disarmament and non-proliferation having served in Tokyo as Director of the Biological Weapons Convention and Chemical Weapons Division (2003-2004) and Deputy Director of the Non-Proliferation Division (1994-1997). He was also seconded to the Japan’s Diet Research Bureau (Lower House) as Deputy Director of Security/International Terrorism Division (2008-2010).
Another unique feather of his career is his appointment in the Ministry of Education as Director of International Education (2010-2012). He was engaged in and responsible for the complete renovation of the Japanese school curriculum of foreign language, shifting its approach from a longstanding tradition of translation-orientated to communication-orientated. This work included radical developments, such as bringing forward the start of English language courses to the elementary level and organizing high school English language courses to be conducted fully in English. Before assuming this challenging assignment, he was the Director of the Cultural Affairs Division in Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006-2007), giving him a good base of experience working with staff across the Ministry of Education.
Mr. Nakai’s experience of overseas postings is also very extensive, covering Kenya (1988-89), Cambodia (1997-99), Canada (1999-2001), Pakistan (2001-2003), Kuwait (2012-15), New Zealand (2015-2018), and Switzerland (2018-2021).
Mr. Nakai read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford (Worcester College). Prior to this, he earned a B.A. in Foreign Studies at Sophia University in Tokyo.