Head of Office

Head
United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD)

Murata Shigeo assumed the position of Head of UNCRD in March 2025. Prior to his joining UNCRD, he served as Executive Technical Advisor in the Infrastructure Engineering Department of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Following his graduation from Kyoto University, with both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Engineering, in 1993, his career began at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), (formerly known as the Ministry of Construction), Government of Japan where he focused on infrastructure projects, particularly in road transport, emphasizing policy formulation, research, training, and information exchange.

Throughout his career, he has held various positions including, chiefly, the following: Researcher in the Road Division at the Public Works Research Institute; Visiting Scientist at the IT Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Senior Researcher in the Advanced Road Design and Safety Division at the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management; Deputy Director of the Road Administration Division at the Road Bureau; General Manager of the Nara National Highway Office at the Kinki Regional Development Bureau; Long-Term Expert with JICA at the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam; Director of the International Office in the Planning Administration Division of the Road Bureau; and Director General of the Kochi Prefectural Public Works Department.

More recently, from April 2021 to June 2024, he was Executive Technical Advisor to the Director General of the Infrastructure Engineering Department of JICA, while in July 2024 he was appointed as Senior Staff member of the Minister's Secretariat, MLIT, Government of Japan.