Top > Announcement > Press Releases(Statements) > Election of Dr. Tetsuro Urabe, Professor, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, and Special Assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, as Member of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS)

Election of Dr. Tetsuro Urabe, Professor, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, and Special Assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, as Member of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS)

August 12, 2011
Japanese

  1. On August 12 (August 11, Eastern Standard Time), a by-election to fill a vacancy on the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) was held at the Special Meeting of States Parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), convened at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Japan's candidate, Dr. Tetsuro Urabe, Professor, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, was elected a member of the Commission.
  2. The CLCS is an organ established under UNCLOS, consisting of 21 experts in the fields of geology, geophysics and hydrography. The function of the Commission is to consider the submissions made by coastal states concerning the outer limits of the continental shelf extended beyond 200 nautical miles from their shores, and to make recommendations from the scientific point of view in accordance with UNCLOS. The CLCS plays a paramount role in the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf by coastal states in line with international law.
  3. As a maritime state, Japan is committed to promoting the international order of the law of the sea and has contributed to the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf by coastal states by nominating a pre-eminent expert in the field for election as a member of the CLCS. Professor Urabe is one of Japan's most distinguished experts in the areas of geology and mineralogy, with abundant experience in leading international seabed research projects, and is expected to contribute substantially to the work of the CLCS as a member.

Additional Information

1. CLCS By-Election (August 11, 2011)
This election was held to fill the vacancy left by the sudden passing of Dr. Kensaku Tamaki of Japan, Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, and Special Assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, during his term on the Commission, in April this year. Dr. Tamaki was elected as a member of the CLCS in 2002, and re-elected in 2007.

2. Dr. Tetsuro Urabe's Professional Background
Dr. Tetsuro Urabe is one of Japan's leading geologists and mineralogists, and is currently a Professor of the Graduate School of Science of The University of Tokyo. He began his academic career in 1976 as an Assistant Professor of the Geological Institute of The University of Tokyo, and served at the Geological Survey of Japan from 1985 to 2000 in various important positions including those of Senior Research Geologist, Deputy Director of the Research Planning Office, Chief of the Experimental Mineralogy Section and Chief Geologist. Dr. Urabe assumed his present position at The University of Tokyo in 2000, and became the Vice Executive Director of the Ocean Alliance, an interdisciplinary research institute of the University for comprehensive ocean studies, the same year. He has been a member of the Advisory Committee to the Cabinet for the Extension of the Continental Shelf since 2003.

Education: M.S. in Geology, The University of Tokyo, 1973; and Ph.D. in Geology, The University of Tokyo, 1976.

Special Assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan since August 11, 2011.

    • (*This is a provisional translation. The above date denotes the date of the issue of the original press release in Japanese.)
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