KUNIHIKO HIRABAYASHI Appointed as the Secretary General of ASEAN-Japan Centre

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Kunihiko Hirabayashi as the Secretary General of the AJC in Tokyo as of September 1, 2021.

Mr. Hirabayashi is the former Regional Advisor Regional Chief of Health, UNICEF East Asian and Pacific Regional Office, Bangkok, Thailand. He worked as a technical advisor and representative of regional offices for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for more than 18 years from May 2003 to August 2021. Prior to that, he engaged in technical assistance in hospitals in developing countries for around 10 years. He obtained Ph.D. in Physiology and Medicine from the University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.

Mr. Hirabayashi devoted much of his 40-year professional life for the best interests of people and children in Asia-Pacific and ASEAN countries, listening sincerely to the voices of decision makers; health professionals; teachers; business and community leaders; social entrepreneurs; and young opinion leaders as well as the voice of voiceless people who are the most vulnerable and excluded, such as displaced persons; refugees; and people with disabilities. He also spent his time in the field in those countries.

Mr. Hirabayashi said “the ASEAN-Japan Centre has a 40-year history of excellence in serving as a bridge between ASEAN Members States and Japan to promote trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. The Centre also has diverse committed experts with vitality, who are devoting all their efforts to expand and deepen the partnership between ASEAN Member States and Japan. With my trusted colleagues, I will play an integral role in reengineering the Centre and will commit myself to contributing toward a sustainable, integrated, peaceful and stable future for people in ASEAN Member States and Japan.”

ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC)

An intergovernmental organization established by the ASEAN Member States and Japan in 1981. It has been promoting exports from ASEAN to Japan while revitalizing investment, tourism as well as people-to-people exchanges between the ASEAN Member States and Japan.
URL: https://www.asean.or.jp/en/