Mr. Hitoshi　Kikawada is the State Minister of Cabinet Office for Financial Services in Japan. He previously served as Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 2012, he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives and has been elected four times since. He is an ocean policy expert. He was a researcher at the Ocean Policy Research Foundation from 2010 to 2011. Formaly he was a Chief Researcher for the UNEP Northwest Pacific Action Plan. He earned a Master’s Degree in Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences Graduate Program, the University of Maryland.