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JDZB Governing Bodies

The Japanese-German Center Berlin (Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin JDZB) is a non-profit organization. It has two governing bodies, the Board of Executives and the Foundation Council. Both countries are equally represented in the governing bodies, which meet annually, alternating between Germany and Japan. The meetings are preceded by government consultations on the contributions of both countries to the JDZB’s annual budget.

JDZB Board of Executives

President	Former Ambassador Takeshi Yagi
Vice President	Prof. Dr. Verena Blechinger-Talcott First Vice President, Freie Universität Berlin
Secretary General	Dr. Julia Münch
Deputy Secretary General	Kenji Matsumoto
Other Members	Dr. Ina Czyborra, Senator for Higher Education and Research, Health, and Long-Term Care, Berlin Ambassador Mitsuko Shino, Embassy of Japan, Berlin Dr. Géza Andreas von Geyr, State Secretary, Federal Foreign Office, Berlin Shū Tamaura, Director, Second Europe Division, European Affairs Bureau, Foreign Ministry of Japan, Tokyo

(As of 1 September 2025)

JDZB Foundation Council

Chairman	Gerhard Wiesheu, CEO B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG, Frankfurt a.M.
Vice-Chairman	Dr. Eng. Masahiko Mori, President DMG Mori Co., Ltd., Tokyo
German Members	Johannes Ebert, Secretary General Goethe-Institut, Head Office, Munich Prof. Dr. Gesine Foljanty-Jost Institute for Political Science and Japanese Studies Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Chair of the Executive Board German Aerospace Center, Cologne Prof. Dr. Ute Klammer, Managing Director Institute for Work, Skills and Training University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg Gerda Meuer, Former Director of Programming Deutsche Welle, Bonn/Berlin Michael Müller, Former Governing Mayor, Berlin Julia Schnitzler, Managing Partner STRASSBURGER Filter GmbH & Co KG, Westhofen Prof. Dr. Klaus Semlinger, Former President HTW University of Applied Sciences, Berlin Prof. Gereon Sievernich, Former Director of Museum Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin Dr. Sabine Stricker-Kellerer, Attourney at Lawy SSK ASIA, Munich Ambassador Petra Sigmund German Embassy, Tokyo Thomas Witty, Lawyer, ARQIS Foreign Law Office, Foreign Law Joint Enterprise with TMI Associates, Tokyo
Japanese Members	Prof. Dr. Kōichirō Agata, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University, Tokyo State Secretary Takehiro Funakoshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo Prof. Dr. Yōko Iwama National Graduate Institute of Policy Studies (GRIPS),Tokyo Isao Kano, President & CEO Japan Center for International Exchange, Tokyo Tetsuhiro Kida, Honorary Advisor of Daido Life Insurance Company, Tokyo Shinya Kurosawa, President The Japan Foundation, Tokyo Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michiko Mae, Institute of Modern Japan Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf Norihide Miyoshi, Journalist, Tokyo Yōko Takahashi, President Japan Philanthropic Association, Tokyo Prof. em. Dr. Reiko Tanabe Kyoto University

(As of 1 September 2025)