Japan Water Forum - Councillor to the President
http://www.waterforum.jp/eng/

Japan

Mr. Hideaki ODA has been dedicated to river management and natural risk management through his career in MOC and NLA. He directed as Director General of River Bureau full-scale revision of River Act. The act was revised in such ways as “ improvement and protection of River Environment” was added to main objectives of the act” and “related habitant’s participation in formulating river improvement master plan was articulated in the act”. He also promoted policies reviving inland navigation and rehabilitating small and medium-sized urban rivers. He was, as Director of Earthquake Preparedness Division, NLA, in charge of formulating Action Plan for a Large-scale South Kanto Earthquake including assessing possible damage to the capital area by such an earthquake. He was dispatched to the affected areas as Deputy Head of Japanese Government Investigation Mission when Armenia Earthquake and San Francisco Earthquake broke out. He used these valuable experiences for his actions in Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Field Management and Operation HQ.Internationally he advocated development of “Global Mapping” when he was Director of International Division, MOC. He formulated “International Cooperation Policy for Construction Sector” under a committee chaired by Late Mr. Saburo Okita, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs.He proposed to establish Water in Rivers Committee as one of the sector consultation groups for the World Water Vision and became Director of Water in Rivers Secretariat and organized “Water and Rivers Day” in the Second World Water Forum.After three years preparation for the Third World Water Forum, which was held in Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka in March 2003 and was successfully concluded with more than 24,000 participants from around the world, he now serves the Japan Water Forum, the succeeding organization of the Third World Water Forum, as Councillor to the President.