Dr Yoshihisa Shirayama Lecture
On Friday 22 November 2013 Dr Yoshihisa Shirayama, Executive Director of the Japan Agency
for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), will deliver a public lecture titled Toward a
Better Understanding of the Ocean and the Earth.
This lecture is hosted by the Embassy of Japan, Canberra and examines findings from a recent
series of surveys conducted by JAMSTEC. These surveys were initiated in response to the 2011
Tōhoku Earthquake off Japan’s eastern coastline and investigated influences on marine
ecosystems. These surveys form the basis of a 10-year project monitoring marine ecosystems
in the Tōhoku region.
The opportunity for an engaging discussion will follow Dr Shirayama’s lecture.
The lecture will be held between 4.00–5:30pm in the Japan Theatre at Questacon, King Edward
Terrace, Canberra. If you would like to secure a seat at this lecture please RSVP by Monday 18
November 2013 to RSVP@questacon.edu.au.
Background
Dr Shirayama is one of Japan’s leading marine science researchers and is a highly-specialised
marine biologist, especially in taxonomy and the ecology of deep-sea meiobenthos.
As a prominent member of Japan’s science community, Dr Shirayama has held positions with
numerous domestic and international scientific societies. These have included:
Executive Director of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
(JAMSTEC);
Director of the Field Science Education and Research
Center, Kyoto University;
Director and Professor of the Seto Marine Biological
Laboratory, Kyoto University;
Coastal Ocean Environment Assessment Committee to
Japan’s Ministry of the Environment (MOE);
Japanese Society for Systematic Zoology;
Japanese Association of Benthology;
Society of Nematologists;
Oceanographic Society of Japan; and
International Association of Meiobenthologists (IAM),
where he served as Chairperson of the Executive
Committee from 1999 to 2001.
Dr Shirayama has also made contributions to many
international science initiatives. These include the C-GOOS Steering Committee of the UNESCO,
the Scientific Steering Committee of the Census of Marine Life (CoML), and the
Intergovernmental Platform of Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Dr Shirayama received his Doctor of Science from the University of Tokyo in 1982. He has
published over 80 papers, reviews, and other articles in both English and Japanese.
