Abe Nobuyasu was the Commissioner of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission (2014-17). He is a former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs (2003-06) and former Director-General for Arms Control and Science Affairs (1997-99) of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as Director of the Center for the Promotion of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (currently Center for Disarmament, Science and Technology (CDAST) at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (2008-2014).

During his service in the Japanese Foreign Ministry, besides serving as ambassador in Saudi Arabia (2001-03) and Switzerland (2006-08), he was engaged in a number of multilateral diplomatic appointments including his services as sub-sherpa for the G7 Summits (1992-94), ambassador to the IAEA and other international organizations in Vienna (1999-2001), and a member of the UN mission in New York (1987-90, 1996-97). He served as a member of the Advisory Board to the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (ICNND) from 2008 to 2010.

Ambassador Abe studied at Tokyo University (1964-67) and at Amherst College (1967-69, BA), later continuing his studies as an international fellow at the Harvard (Weatherhead) Center for International Affairs (1986-87) and as a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs with its project on Managing the Atom (2018-19). He currently serves as a senior advisor to the Council on Strategic Risks.