Mr. Ikeda, a 1983 graduate of Tsukuba University’s Faculty of Agriculture, earned his Master’s in Environment Science from the same institution in 1985. He joined the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1985, holding various roles both at the head office and overseas offices in Myanmar, USA, and Laos. His positions include Deputy Director General for Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) Secretariat (2008-2011), and Deputy Director General for the Department of Global Environment (2011-2013). He served as Chief Representative of JICA Thailand (2013- 2016) and Director General of JICA Chugoku (2016-2018). Since June 2018, he’s been the Chief Advisor for the ASEAN Regional Capacity on Disaster Health Management (ARCH) project.