Kentaro FUNAKI is the Executive Director of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA).

He leads the International Affairs Department, Overseas Business Strategy Department, and Integrated Support Center for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Security (ISCN) within JAEA. He has spent the previous 30 years in the nuclear sector and international engagements with extensive experience covering strategy and organizational planning, operation, program & project management in Japan and overseas.

He also supervises R&D program to address nuclear back-end issues within JAEA, as well as challenges arising from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident.

Prior to his appointment to present position in April 2021, he was the Chief Nuclear Officer for International and Technology Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), managing the “Nuclear Energy x Innovation Program” to support private-sector-led R&D projects for a range of advanced reactors and technologies.

Since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident in 2011, he has dedicated 13 years to strategic planning and R&D management for the Decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants and Reconstruction of Fukushima coastal area, and has held senior positions at METI, as the Director of Nuclear Accident Response Office of METI, and newly established quasi-government organizations (e.g. IRID and NDF) as well as the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency.