NOMURA Ryoichi was appointed as Director-General of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on 17th January 2025.

He earned a Master of Science degree from The University of Tokyo in 1991 before starting at JMA. He previously served the Agency as Deputy Director-General for Disaster Risk Reduction of JMA (2024 – 2025), Director-General of the Atmosphere and Ocean Department (2023 – 2024), Director-General of the Seismology and Volcanology Department (2022 – 2023) and Director-General of the Osaka Regional Headquarters (2021 – 2022).

He spent his early career in the Numerical Weather Prediction division, followed by other work including JMA strategy and policy planning, and management of weather, climate, earthquake and tsunami information services. In recent years he has dedicated himself to the advancement of JMA’s services for regional disaster risk reduction nationwide based on the development of partnerships with municipal governments. Throughout his career, he has also actively participated in international activities within the frameworks of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO).

In his inaugural address, Mr. Nomura highlighted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake on 17 January 1995, and the 150th anniversary of meteorological services in Japan, which began in 1875. He reaffirmed his commitment to advancing meteorological services with dedication and humility, building on the achievements of the past 150 years. He also noted that Japan faces significant hydrometeorological disasters each year caused by Stationary Linear Mesoscale Convective Systems ("Senjo-kousuitai") and expressed his determination to enhance forecasting technologies, keeping the people affected by these events in mind.