Biography — Shotaro Oshima (Japan) (2008 - 2012)

Born in Japan on 20 September 1943, Mr Shotaro Oshima is a law graduate from the University of Tokyo, with almost 40 years experience as a diplomat in Japan's Foreign Service, most recently as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea.

From 2002 to 2005, Mr Oshima was Japan's Permanent Representative to the WTO, during which time he served as Chair of the General Council and the Dispute Settlement Body.

Prior to his time in Geneva, Mr Oshima served as Deputy Foreign Minister responsible for economic matters and was designated as Prime Minister Koizumi's Personal Representative to the G8 Summit in Canada in June 2002. In the same year he served as the Prime Minister's Personal Representative to the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa.

From 1997 to 2000, Mr Oshima served as Director-General for Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responsible for formulating and implementing major policy initiatives in Japan's external economic relations.