Governance
Discover the inner workings of UWC ISAK Japan on our Governance page. Explore our governance structure, accreditations, and access our annual reports for insights into our operations.
Board of Directors
Lin Kobayashi
Lin Kobayashi is the co-founder and Chair of the Board at UWC ISAK Japan. Ms. Kobayashi’s passion for education began during her studies at a residential high school in Canada, and continued to develop over the years. Before returning to Tokyo in 2008 to launch the ISAK project, she spent two years working for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the Philippines, where she worked to program non-formal education projects for street children. Prior to UNICEF, Ms. Kobayashi worked at the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). Ms. Kobayashi began her career at Morgan Stanley and holds an MA in International Education Policy Analysis from Stanford University and a BA in Development Economics from the University of Tokyo. Ms. Kobayashi has received several honors as a leader and change-maker including “Young Global Leader 2012” by the World Economic Forum; “Change-maker of the Year 2013” by Nikkei Business; “Woman of the Year 2015” by Nikkei Woman; “Management Award of the Year 2016” by Zaikai and “EY Entrepreneur of The Year 2019 Japan” by Ernst & Young. In 2017, Ms. Kobayashi was named a Yale World Fellow. She also serves on the boards of UWC International as well as Asia Pacific Initiative.
Mamoru Taniya
While Mamoru Taniya serves as Chairman of Asuka Holdings, Inc., his life work is to develop projects and services that match the needs of the times. Some of his many successful initiatives include the launch of Lifenet Insurance Company, Japan’s first online insurance company, and the development of “studio yoggy,” a pioneering yoga studio which has contributed to the popularization of yoga in Japan. Mr. Taniya also started the Campus for H Inc., a venture health care company that develops and markets innovative corporate wellness programs including mindfulness. As both an entrepreneur and a father of two, he came up with the ISAK concept in 2005. Mr. Taniya is a 1983 graduate of Nada Senior High School and received his B.A. in law from the University of Tokyo in 1987.
Ronna Chao
Kenji Govaers
Yasushi Hatakeyama
Namiko Kaji
Namiko has been working as a psychiatrist for the past 20 years. After gaining experience in the fields of General/ER/Geriatric/Obstetrics & Gynecologic/Industrial psychiatry, she completed her doctorate degree in Child and Adolescent psychiatry at The University of Tokyo, and continues to work with many young persons at the Mental Health Division of the University of Tokyo. She works together and consults cases with many international schools as well.
Shusaku Minoda
Shusaku Minoda joined KKR in 2007. In 2008, he became Chief Executive Officer and in 2013 was named Chairman of KKR Japan. He was engaged in private equity investments. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Minoda was Managing Executive Officer in charge of the Global Investment Banking Group of Mizuho Corporate Bank and was a member of the management committee of the Bank since 2004. He served as Chairman of the Japan Private Equity Association from June 2011 to June 2013. In December 2014, He retired as Chairman of KKR Japan. Since April 2015, he has served on the Board of Directors of Opt Holding. Currently, he also serves on the Board of Directors of Toyoko-Inn, a member of Japan Association of Corporate Executives.
Ryo Ohira
Ryo Ohira, Managing Director, joined the firm in 2004. He is the Partner and serves on the firm’s Operating Committee of Neuberger Berman Group. As the Head of Neuberger Berman East Asia Ltd. (Japan and South Korea), he led the company’s start-up and the growth strategy since its founding. Japan office’s AUM from clients is JPY 9,152.8 bn as of the end of September 2022. In 2019, Japan office has launched Japan Equity ESG Engagement Strategy for mid-small cap listed equities and all-cap listed equities. In addition, Japan PE team has been expanding LP, Co-Investment and Secondary Investment activities in private markets recently. Prior to joining the firm, Ryo worked at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group to develop an alternative investment program for Japanese institutional clients. He earned a BS in Engineering from the University of Tokyo and an MS in Finance and Management from the University of Tsukuba. He is a member of Japan Association of Corporate Executives, “Keizai Doyukai”.
Toru Shimada
Toru Shimada began his career at Recruit Co., before co-founding Intelligence Co., Ltd. in 1989. After leaving Intelligence in 1999, he served as President and Owner of Rakuten Baseball Team, and Vice President of Rakuten, Inc. He also became COO of USEN-NEXT HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. in 2017 where he served until 2021. Toru serves on the Board of Directors of a number of companies and as an angel investor has supported the growth of more than 170 startups.
Arden Tyoschin
Arden is a creative and curious thinker and doer who uses the mission and vision of her school as a lens for decision-making. She also uses collaborative design thinking as an approach to continuous improvement that focuses on students’ learning experiences. Throughout her distinguished career, she has served in various leadership positions at international schools around the world. These include Harare International School Zimbabwe for the last 5 years as Director, Nanjing International School and Xiamen International School in China for over 16 years combined, and several other schools in Canada and Russia. Truly a global citizen in outlook and experience, she speaks English, Russian, French, conversational Mandarin and basic Shona.
Honorary Advisor
Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado
Councils
Chair Gen Miyazawa
Hideaki Arai
Ronna Chao
Matt Cheng
Kenji Govaers
Boon Bee Hew
Masahisa Ikeda
Tomonori Ito
Kei Iwashita
Namiko Kaji
Lin Kobayashi
Yojiro Koizumi
Shin Ji Low
Ryo Ohira
Lorier Reygel
Keiko Sato
Toru Shimada
Mariko Shimizu
Mamoru Taniya
Yasunori Lin Tsumura
Arden Tyoschin
Charlotte Yew
Advisory Board
Chair Fumio Tateishi
Yasushi Ando
Yasuchika Hasegawa
Hidehiko Hayashi
Ryusuke Honjyo
Kenji Hosokawa
Hidehiro Imatsu
Kakutaro Kitashiro
Hiroko Kono
Masahiro Koshiba
Mariko Magnan
Paul McInerney
Takashi Murata
Shigeru Sato
Teruhide Sato
Kan Suzuki
Makoto Takano
Yasuhiro Wakebayashi
Kotaro Yamagishi
Kimiya Yamamoto
Masakazu Yanagisawa
Statutory Auditor
Tony Insung Cha
Kaori Sugimoto
Accreditation
Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT)
UWC ISAK Japan is accredited through the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT). Graduates of UWC ISAK Japan receive a Japanese high school diploma upon graduation.
International Baccalaureate Organization
UWC ISAK Japan is an Official IB World School, authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization to teach the two-year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP).
