Prof. Nobuyasu Abe has been serving as a Commissioner of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission since April 2014. He has been involved in disarmament and arms control work in a variety of capacities. He served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs (2003-06) and Director-General for Arms Control and Science Affairs (1997-99) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Before the current assignment, he served as Director of the Center for the Promotion of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (2008-14).
He performed three ambassadorial assignments: to the IAEA and other international organizations in Vienna (1999-2001), Saudi Arabia (2001-03), and Switzerland (2006-08). He contributed to the works of the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (ICNND; 2008-10) as a member of its advisory board. He currently serves as a member of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (APLN; 2011-) and the Group of Eminent Persons for the Entry-into-force of the CTBT (GEM; 2013-).
He studied at Tokyo University (1964-67), at Amherst College (1967-69, BA), and at Harvard (Weatherhead) Center for International Affairs (WCFIA; 1986-87).
He is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS; 1984- ). His writings include an essay titled “Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula: A New Perspective” for Korea Review. He was born in Akita, Japan, in September 1945.