Maemura Akinori
MAEMURA Akinori (surname, first name, 前村 昌紀 in Han Characters) is working for Japan Network Information Center (JPNIC) as General Manager of Internet Development Department. He now serves as one of two ASO Address Council Appointees for ICANN Board of Directors at its Seat 10.
He has rich experience more than 20 years in Internet Coordination and Governance, rooted in Network Operations Coordination and IP Numbers Management.
For IP Numbers Management, he holds a comprehensive knowledge and expertise covering the address policy and its development processes at regional and national levels, the overall institutional scheme, governance, strategy and the operation of the Internet Registries. He was elected to the Executive Council of APNIC, its governing board, in 2000, then elected as the Chair of it in 2003. He was seated at the Chair position until March 2016, with an additional role as APNIC EC observer to NRO EC (Executive Council of Number Resource Organization) since 2010. For more than a decade, he was directly involved in the governance and strategy of the Internet Registries, representing APNIC membership and broader community which are very diverse.
The department which he currently leads at JPNIC covers a wide range of activities for the coordination and promotion of the Internet Infrastructure, including research on the Internet policies and technologies, Events, Communications and the oversight role of .jp ccTLD. Among them, he is directly involved in Policy Research for Domain Names and Internet Governance. Based on the knowledge by research and participation, his department disseminates various information on ICANN and the domain name policies including major outcomes of every ICANN meetings, ICANN Board resolutions, policies adopted by ICANN, through JPNIC website, organized events, online magazines and publications to serve the Japanese Community. Further, the department facilitates Internet Governance Conference Japan (IGCJ) to engage Japanese Community to the discussion on the Internet Governance.
Akinori began his career for the Internet with designing a nation-wide ISP backbone network operated by NEC Corporation in 1994 when commercial Internet services emerging in Japan. Since then, he has been involved in the coordination of the Internet in Japan, including the foundation of JANOG (Japan Network Operators’ Group) as a Steering Committee member and involvement in the IP Address Management at JPNIC.
He moved from NEC to France Telecom Group in 2000 and took positions of IP Engineering for Japan, IP Product Management for Asian Region and then R&D in Tokyo Laboratories until 2006. During these years his involvement into activities with JPNIC and APNIC kept increasing. In order to dedicate his efforts to the Internet Coordination, he joined JPNIC as an employee.
Currently at Board of Directors of ICANN, in addition to his expertise in IP Numbers field, he especially contributes in IDN and other technical issues to serve as Chair of Board IDN Working Group since October 2017 and Chair of the Board Technical Committee since October 2018. Additionally he is active to fulfil the missions in regional events on behalf of ICANN Board; ITU Telecom World (Bangkok 2016, Busan 2017), World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit (2016 – 2018) and Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy (2018) on the top of his inherent activities at APNIC Conferences.
Public Services:
- Visiting Research Fellow for GLOCOM (Center for Global Communication of the International University of Japan) (2007 –)
- Chair of Publicity Working Group of the Taskforce on IPv4 Address Exhaustion, Japan (2008 –)
- Nomination Committee of ISOC Japan Chapter (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018)
- Co-Chair of Japanese Generation Panel (JGP) for the root-zone Label Generation Rule (2014 –)
- Board Director of JPCERT Coordination Center (JPCERT/CC) (2014 –)
- Board Director of Asia Pacific Institute of Digital Economy (APIDE) (2015 –)
- Coordination Group Member of Japan IGF (2017 –)
- Executive Council of Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (2000 – 2016, Chair 2003 – 2016) gs
- Inaugural Coordination Council of NETmundial Initiative (2015 –2016)
- Executive Multistakeholder Committee of NETmundial Conference (2014)
- Visiting Lecturer at Reitaku University (2007 — 2014)
- Trustee of JPNIC (2002 – 2007)
- JANOG Steering Committee (1997 — 2007)
Services within ICANN Board of Directors:
- Risk Committee (since October 2016 until now)
- Audit Committee (since October 2017 until now)
- Technical Committee (since October 2017, Chair since October 2018)
- IDN Working Group (since October 2016, Chair since October 2017)
A Japanese national, based in Tokyo with wife and two children, with Japanese as the native tongue and English to fulfil the global and regional duties.
Last modified on 04/02/2020
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As a member of Executive Council of APNIC, I strongly support MAEMURA Akinori’s candidacy for ICANN board, and urge you to as well.
Akinori Maemura currently occupies Seat 10 of the ICANN Board, and I ask the ASO Address Council to reappoint him to this position, based on his service record, and the following attributes.
1. Technical knowledge and experience
Akinori is a network engineer by training and profession, and has the technical skills and experience required to understand and support ICANN’s mission. He has detailed technical knowledge, with hands-on experience from 1994 to 2006 in IP/Internet networking for Bigglobe (NEC), Global One, France Telecom and Orange. His responsibilities over this 12 year period were always focussed on IP network engineering and management.
2. Diverse IP Address Registry experience
Throughout his long career as a network engineer, Akinori participated actively as a community member of APNIC and JPNIC. He worked as a staff member and manager at JPNIC, including a 7-year period as General Manager of JPNIC’s IP Department (responsible of the entire IP address business including technical operation of the Registry, facilitating the JPNIC Policy Forum, and external relations). He was actively involved in APNIC from 2000 until 2016 as a member of the Executive Council (Governing board), including 13 years as Chair.
3. Corporate Governance experience
Akinori has held a number of elected, responsible positions in corporate governance of diverse Internet community organisations, including:
– Board of Trustees of JPNIC (4 years)
– Steering Committee of JANOG (10 years)
– Board Director of JPCERT (2 years)
– Member and Chair of APNIC Executive Council (15 years)
These appointments confirm Akinori’s breadth of hands-on experience in corporate governance in the Internet environment, and the very high level of recognition and respect from communities which have consistently supported him in these positions.
4. ICANN experience
Akinori’s service for the past 2 years has been well-recognised as exemplary. He has proven a diligent member of the ICANN Board, as other current members will testify. While serving for the ICANN organisation as a whole, he has brought his specific knowledge of the RIR system to bear, advocated for the numbering community, and assisted where needed with coordination and communication between RIR and ICANN representatives. As AC members will recognise, he has attended numerous RIR meetings during the past 2 years.
Prior to his appointment to the board, Akinori was a long-term participant in ICANN meetings, delegated both by APNIC and JPNIC to participate in ICANN activities. In addition to IP addressing related aspects of ICANN, he participated formally and regularly in the ISP Constituency of the GNSO, as a delegate from JPNIC since 2009.
5. Maturity and demonstrated contribution
Akinori’s long experience in Internet technical, community and governance matters is hard to match. He has expertise, judgement and a work ethic which has been well recognised by his peers and community. As a member of the ICANN Board, he has already contributed the same dedication, and will continue to do so if reappointed.
Paul Wilson
Director General
APNIC
I have known Akinori since 2000 when he was first elected to APNIC EC (Executive Council). Both of us served on APNIC EC until early 2016 when we chose not to run for the EC election again. He was the Chair of APNIC EC from 2003 to 2016. Under his leadership, APNIC had grown substantially and had established good reputation among Internet community. Internet development in Asia Pacific had also undergone tremendous growth under the help and support of APNIC during this period. I have found that he is honest, dedicated and passionate to his work and involvement in JPNIC, APNIC and other Internet related organisations. It was indeed my pleasure and my honour working with him. I think that he is also a good asset and a valuable addition to ICANN Board especially as he has served on ICANN Board for one term already. He has good track records. He has demonstrated his devotion, his unselfishness and his value to ICANN and related community. So, I strongly recommend ASO AC members to vote for him again at the coming ICANN Board election so that he can serve his 2nd term.
I have known Akinori Maemura-san for several years. He is a professional, thoughtful, proactive and trustworthy person, I strongly support him to be icann board member, and I think he deserves this seat.
Maemura-san is the best person for the ASO’s Seat of the ICANN Board.
He has demonstrated his great expertise in the fields of telecommunications technologies, Internet governance, cyber security and corporate governance. He also has a wide range of experiences with JPNIC, APNIC, JANOG and JPCERT, etc.
In fact, he has significantly contributed to the regional and global Internet policy development. Chairing Executive Council of APNIC was one example of his commitment and devotion.
I introduce his another aspect. He is a nice person and liked by everybody in the community. He always listens to others and gives them wise advice. I strongly believe that his friendly leadership in ICANN will bring the brighter future to the Internet.
I fully support his candidacy.
Akinori has a unique combination of knowledge and expertise in technical issues, community engagement, and organizational management. I have known him since my involvement in Internet Technical community in 2002, and later we served together on the APNIC executive council. Akinori will be a great asset on the ICANN board
I have known Akinori for almost 10 years and ever worked with him both as an APNIC Executive Council member for one year. I would say he is a dedicated and respectable person. We’re honored ever had him in our community and sent him to the ICANN community with his experiences. As Chairman of APNIC Executive Council for many years, I did see his strong stragetic and social skills, his active participation in APNIC’s outreach activities focused on global cooperation, his problem solving mind, and above of all, his great passion about stuff he is keen on. With all of these he did a good job on the ICANN board. I am confident he will do even better so I support him for a second term.
Jessica Shen
Executive Council Member of APNIC
I had the pleasure of serving on the ICANN Board with Akinori. He is a dedicated board member with a deep technical understanding and a commitment to the bottom-up multistakeholder approach to policy formation.
He has always ensured that issues relevant to the numbering community are given appropriate attention and yet he is always willing to engage on other topics and issues.
He has made a significant contribution to board understanding of numbering issues, yet is always willing to roll-up his sleeves and put his fine analytical mind to work on a variety of issues facing the ICANN board and community.
I think he will continue to make a significant and positive impact if re-appointed to fill Seat 10.
* I will also make comments on other candidates, to the extent my opinions may help you in forming your own.
I have been working with Akinori san for several years, during that period of time, he serving as the Chair of APNIC Executive Council.
I believe that with his dedicated effort, professional knowledge and capability in the Internet governance will bring strong management and operation of ICANN for our Asia-Pacific and Global Internet community in the future.
I support his second term as ICANN board member.
For Last 6 years I know Maemura-san. One of the hard working, dedicated person for the community. His idea and forward thinking took the Asia Pacific Region into a sustainable role model for the world. He has complete knowledge as operational guy, as a policy person, as a future thinker and as a Think Tank for the society. I want to see him again in ICANN Board for the coming years. I strongly support his nomination for ICANN Board Member.
I strongly support Maemura Akinori. Maemura-san is an Internet professional with deeply knowledge and experience on Internet governance and Internet community. We have known him for over 15 years and during this time, seeing his continuously devotion to community, for a multistake-holder Internet. Best wishes for Maemura-san and I would like to encourage him to continue his devotion in his next term as member of ICANN board.
I have known Akinori for several years. He is a professional, thoughtful, proactive and trustworthy person, I strongly support him to be icann board member, and I think he deserves this seat.
I have known Akinori for many years and supported his candidature on the ICANN Board. His performance on the Board and actions to defend the rights and benefit of end users mean that I have no hesitation in supporting that his term should be renewed.
I know Akinori more than 15+ years, when I was one of APNIC ECs. He received all the ECs support to be the chair of APNIC chair of ECs. He performed professional and effective as a chair to operate APNIC ECs very well. He take job seriously no matter he is the manager I. JPNIC or APNIC. Since he was appointed as one of the board member appointed by ASO in 2016. As usual, you performed his professional and dedication as an ICANN board member. His perform Anna right win the respect in the community. I am willing to give my support for his second term as ICANN board. Wish ASO can also recognize his work to give him a chance to be the second term.
I first met Maemura-san almost six years ago as ICANN staff. Maemura-san spearheaded several community initiatives on his own e.g. ICANN readout sessions so that there can be a wider understanding of ICANN development and work. This is a great contribution to the region. Over the years, I have seen him invest personal energy and time tirelessly to other community efforts. I strongly believe that Mamura-san has the values, experience and driving skills that would make him invaluable as a candidate. I support his candidacy wholeheartedly.
I strongly support MAEMURA Akinori’s candidacy for ICANN board, and urge you to as well.
He is well known for his long-standing commitment and service to the community, integrity and in-depth expertise. During his first term as a ICANN board member, he has been actively participated in the regional Internet community meetings and others. Akinori is a good listener, who can also connect regional technical issues to global policy practice.
If elected, he will be the one to represent the technical realities of today’s Internet in not-easily-accessible region.
Koichiro (Sparky) Komiyama
JPCERT/CC
I have had the pleasure to know Akinori for many years and to work with him in the ICANN board during my time on the board. Akinori brings a unique perspective and knowledge with his background – technical, business and cultural. The contributions that Akinori has provided to the ICANN board have been very valuable and very much appreciated.
Now, more than ever, the Internet community need a strong members’ organization to lead the community. I strongly support Akinori fulfills this role. Working as the Executive Council member of APNIC, I see the importance of good address policy and community engagement. Akinori shows his leadership and knowledge for managing critical issues and facilitating dialogue for all stakeholders. I am very pleased to support Akinori for his candidature.
Happy to endorse Akinori and also this very transparent selection procedure. I served on the board with Akinori for 3 years and found him a pleasant and professional colleague. His knowledge is essential when it comes to IDN’s and Asian culture. It is also nice that he cares about the board as a whole and less his personal ambition.
I spent close to fifteen years on the ICANN board in various capacities, including 6+ years as chair. Over the course of that time I had the privilege of working with over seventy board members. When Akinori first came on the board, he immediately distinguished himself in two ways. First, he brought unquestioned technical and managerial experience, and thus added to the strength of the board. Second, and equally important, he bridged the linguistic and cultural differences, setting everyone at ease and making it easy to communicate. He is warm, relaxed and engaged and always knowledgeable and insightful. ICANN, the Address community, JPNIC and the entire Internet community have benefitted from Akinori’s service on the ICANN board, and that benefit will only increase with Akinori’s continued service.
Sitting board members generally refrain from making recommendations about board candidates. Now that I am no longer on the board, I can do so, and I am very pleased to strongly recommend Akinori for a second term.
I’d like to express my support to Akinori Maemura for a second term as a board member. I have known Akinori for more than fifteen years since the days he worked for a global telecoms operator. Since then, with his first-hand experience of the work of the RIRs and his continuous involvement with ICANN, he’s become a most proficient member of our community, and his election for the ICANN board was well deserved. Beyond Akinori’s obvious service to the ASO community in his actions as a board member, I’d like to praise his willingness to engage “across the board” with the other SO/ACs, such as the GNSO and the Internet Service Providers & Connectivity Providers in particular. Despite numerous other commitments, Akinori made a point of regularly participating to our work over these three years to provide inputs or raise issues which, because of his background, he knew would be of importance to our ISPCP community. On a personal note, I have always appreciated his ability to think in terms of collective benefits and his willingness to assist sort out problems in that spirit. I think the ICANN Board needs members of Akinori Maemura’s caliber and it’s my privilege to express this support.
I have been knowing Maemura-san for a long time since 2001. Maemura-san is a pleasant, humble and professional Internet expert. I’ve met him in various Internet events, he has global exposure and strong relationship with different organizations. He has vast technical knowledge and in-depth understanding of the Internet policy via his contribution in JPNIC, APNIC and ICANN.
I have no reservation to recommend Maemura-san for the ICANN Board. I’m sure he will strike his best to make a better Internet for everyone.
Kams Yeung
Executive Council, APNIC
As a recent former member of the ICANN Board, I have worked with Akinori on Board activities for the last several years. In my view, Akinori has been an ideal Board member. His rich experience in the Asia and the Pacific region has been reflected in his thoughtfulness, strategic thinking, ability to introduce relevant facts and opinions into Board deliberations. His calm demeanor masks a strong intellect and an ability to work collaboratively in a constructive and productive manner. He has been responsible for several Board activities, and every one of them has been led purposefully and has produced results. Akinori has been a strong proponent of Internet principles and of the rights and benefits Internet users as a whole. I strongly support his candidature.
I have known Akinori for many years, we met many times at different RIR meetings, Akinori as Chairman of the APNIC Executive Council, me as member of the RIPE NCC Executive Board.
I was always impressed by Akinori’s knowledge and experience in Internet related issues.
I am convinced he is a very good candidate for this position. With a second term he could continue his valuable work on the BoD.
I’ve known Akinori for many years, exchanging views on the numbering community and the broader Internet, initially with him as part of the APNIC EC and me as member of the RIPE NCC board. He’s helped to raise the profile of the numbering community within ICANN in his first term and I would not hesitate to recommend him for a second term.
Akinori san is an Internet professional par excellence! His demeanour, knowledge of the domain and diplomacy in handling different stakeholders have helped resolve sticky situations as well as pre-empted them into becoming unresolvable. His inclusion will be beneficial to say the least.
I strongly support the nomination of Maemura-san for the ICANN Board. I have known Maemura-san for more than 15 years. He has technical and operational background, and deep knowledge in policy and governance side of the Internet. He has played key roles in various fields including ICANN and APNIC, and demonstrated his leadership. I am confident that he will continue to make a vital contribution to both ICANN and its community.
Akinori has been serving the cause of internet in the Asia Pacific region for over two decades now.With his humble and ever helpful attitude he has led this diverse region of languages culture and communities where 60 percent of world population lives. He rightfully brings diversity to the ICANN Board from a very important region. Akinori is a thorough proffessional with decades of experience in Internet coordination and governance .He has served in various organisations and in various capacities of responsibility ,each adding to his formidable knowledge and experience.His service in the ICANN board has, I feel,been superlative.He needs to be given a second term to push forward the initiatives he has been a part of.He is required on the ICANN board as the voice of the huge humanity in the Asia Pacfic region,excellently fulfilling the condition of diversity on the ICANN board.I support his candidature.