Hideka Morimoto

Professor, Faculty of Law, Waseda University

Hideka Morimoto was born in Osaka Prefecture in January 1957 and joined the Ministry of the Environment of Japan in 1981. He served as Vice-Minister of the Environment from July 2017 to July 2019.

During his distinguished public service career, he held a number of senior government positions, including Director-General of the Minister's Secretariat at the Ministry of the Environment, Deputy Director-General of the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), Counsellor, Cabinet Secretariat(Director-General of the Office for Emergency Preparedness on Reform of Nuclear Safety Regulatory Organizations), Deputy Director-General of the Minister’s Secretariat (Nature Conservation), Ministry of the Environment and Counsellor, Cabinet Secretariat. He also served as Secretary to the President of the Third Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP3), Senior Fellow, East-West Center, and Director of the Global Environmental Partnership Plaza.

Morimoto has played a key role in the development of Japan's environmental governance framework, contributing to the enactment of major environmental legislation, including the Basic Environment Act and the Satoyama Conservation Act, as well as the establishment of the Nuclear Regulation Authority at the Ministry of the Environment. He has also been deeply involved in Fukushima's reconstruction, measures addressing Minamata disease and asbestos-related health impacts, and initiatives to tackle marine plastic waste and promote resource circulation.

He holds degrees in Law and Political Science from the University of Tokyo.

His current appointments include Outside Director of INPEX Corporation and Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Ltd., Chairperson of the Institute for Sustainability Promotion, and Member of the Steering Committee of the GX Acceleration Agency.