About Us
Former Director Generals
Saku Tsuneta
Ph.D.
Born in 1954
Term of office: April 1, 2018–March 31, 2024
Related Links
- A new-year’s message from the Director General, NAOJ (January 6, 2024)
- A new-year’s message from the Director General, NAOJ (January 6, 2023)
- A new-year’s message from the Director General, NAOJ (January 5, 2022)
- A new-year’s message from the Director General, NAOJ (January 13, 2021)
- A new-year’s message from the Director General, NAOJ (January 31, 2020)
- NAOJ Director General Saku Tsuneta Wins Japan Academy Prize (March 14, 2019)
- Construction of TMT and Beyond: A new-year’s message from the Director General, NAOJ (January 8, 2019)
- NAOJ Director’s 30th Anniversary Address (July 20, 2018)
- Message from New Director General of NAOJ, Dr. Saku Tsuneta (April 1, 2018)
Brief Personal History
| 1983 | Earned Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo |
|---|---|
| 1983 | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellow |
| 1986 | Assistant Professor at Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, University of Tokyo |
| 1988 | Assistant Professor at the Institute of Astronomy, the University of Tokyo |
| 1992 | Associate Professor at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Tokyo |
| 1996 | Professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) |
| 2005 | Director of the Advanced Technology Center, NAOJ (until 2013) |
| 2007 | Director of the Hinode Science Center, NAOJ (until 2013) |
| 2013 | Board Director of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) / Director General of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (until March, 2018) |
| 2018 | Director General of NAOJ / Vice President of the National Institutes of Natural Science |
| 2022 | Director General of NAOJ / Executive Director (Vice President) of the National Institutes of Natural |
Masahiko Hayashi
Ph.D.
Born in 1959
Term of office: April 1, 2012–March 31, 2018
Brief Personal History
| 1986 | Ph.D. (University of Tokyo) |
| 1986 | JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow |
| 1987 | Research Assistant at the University of Tokyo |
| 1994 | Associate Professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) |
| 1998 | Professor at NAOJ |
| 2006 | Director of Subaru Telescope, NAOJ (until 2010) |
| 2010 | Professor at the School of Science, University of Tokyo (until 2012) |
| 2012 | Director General of NAOJ (until 2018) |
| 2018 | Professor at NAOJ |
Shoken Miyama
Ph.D.
Born in 1951
Term of office: April 1, 2006–March 31, 2012
Brief Personal History
| 1981 | Ph.D. (Kyoto University) |
| 1983 | Research Assistant at the Faculty of Science, Kyoto University |
| 1989 | Associate Professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) |
| 1992 | Professor at NAOJ |
| 1996 | Director of Planning and Coordination at NAOJ |
| 2004 | Vice-Director General of NAOJ |
| 2006 | Director General of NAOJ |
| 2012 | Project Professor at the President’s Office of Hiroshima University |
| 2015 | Director and Project Professor at the Center for Planetary Science, Department of Planetology, Graduate School of Science / Faculty of Science, Kobe University |
Norio Kaifu
Ph.D.
Lifetime: 1943–2019
Term of Office: April 1, 2000–March 31, 2006
Brief Personal History
| 1969 | Research Assistant at the University of Tokyo |
| 1972 | Ph.D. (University of Tokyo) |
| 1979 | Associate Professor at Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, University of Tokyo |
| 1987 | The Nishina Memorial Prize for “Development of millimeterwave astronomy” |
| 1988 | Professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) |
| 1997 | Founding Director of Subaru Telescope, NAOJ |
| 1998 | The Japan Academy Prize for “Research on the interstellar medium” |
| 2000 | Director General of NAOJ (until 2006) |
| 2005 | Member of the Science Council of Japan (until 2011) |
| 2007 | Professor at the Open University of Japan (until 2012) |
| 2012 | President of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) (until 2015) |
| 2019 | Deceased |
Keiichi Kodaira
Ph.D.
Born in 1937
Term of Office: April 1, 1994–March 31, 2000
Brief Personal History
| 1964 | Ph.D. (University of Kiel, Germany) |
| 1965 | Research Assistant at the University of Tokyo |
| 1967 | Ph.D. (University of Tokyo) |
| 1967 | Visiting Research Fellow at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (until 1968) |
| 1971 | Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo |
| 1972 | Visiting Professor at Heidelberg University (until 1973) |
| 1982 | Professor at Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, University of Tokyo |
| 1988 | Professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) |
| 1994 | Director General of NAOJ (until 2000) |
| 1994 | Chair of the Department of Astronomical Science, School of Physical Sciences, the Graduate University for Advanced Studies |
| 2001 | President at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (until 2008) |
| 2001 | The Karl Schwarzschild Medal |
| 2008 | Director of the JSPS Bonn Office |
| 2015 | The Foreign Minister’s Commendation |
| 2017 | The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star |
Yoshihide Kozai
Ph.D.
Lifetime: 1928–2018
Term of Office: July 1, 1988–March 31, 1994
Brief Personal History
| 1952 | Research Assistant at Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, University of Tokyo |
| 1958 | Ph.D. (University of Tokyo) |
| 1958 | Visiting Researcher at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Harvard College Observatory (Until 1963) |
| 1963 | Associate Professor at Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, University of Tokyo |
| 1963 | The Asahi Prize |
| 1965 | Head of the Computing Center for Artificial Satellites, Tokyo Astronomical Observatory |
| 1966 | Professor at Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, University of Tokyo |
| 1973 | Director of Dodaira Observatory, Tokyo Astronomical Observatory |
| 1979 | The Imperial Prize and Japan Academy Prize for “Research on Movements of Saturnian Satellites, Artificial Satellites, and Asteroids” |
| 1980 | Member of the Japan Academy |
| 1981 | Director of Tokyo Astronomical Observatory (Until 1988) |
| 1983 | Administrative Director of the Astronomical Society of Japan (Until 1985) |
| 1988 | Founding Director General of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Until 1994) |
| 1988 | President of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) (Until 1991, the first Japanese president) |
| 1990 | The Brouwer Award (American Astronomical Society) |
| 1997 | Director of Gunma Astronomical Observatory (Until 2012) |
| 2002 | The Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd Class |
| 2009 | Person of Cultural Merit |
| 2010 | Honorary Citizen of Mitaka City |
| 2018 | Deceased |