Deputy Commissioner, Small and Medium Enterprise Agency

YAMAMOTO Kazunori

Since joining the ministry in 1993, Mr. Yamamoto Kazunori has held responsibilities across a wide range of policy areas, namely (1) energy policy for oil and natural gas development and enhancing the resilience of domestic energy supply networks, with a view to securing a stable energy supply; (2) information and digital policy for promoting personal data protection and utilization, as well as digitalization; (3) environmental policy to address climate change and to promote the circular economy; and (4) commerce and service policy aimed at promoting cashless payment and securing relief supplies in times of disaster. Most recently, Mr. Yamamoto was responsible for policy for small and medium enterprises designed to improve their business environment, such as ensuring proper transactions and facilitating finance. In particular, he was directly involved in the establishment of the Act on Recycling of End-of-Life Automobiles from its initial studies to formulation. In 2025, he successfully led a major revision for the first time in about 20 years of the Subcontract Act　to preclude unfair trade practices against subcontractors.

Mr. Yamamoto was also involved in the launch of the Personal Information Protection Commission and the Digital Agency as a founding member. In the Personal Information Protection Commission, he worked on a major revision and enforcement of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, and negotiated a framework for cross-border transfer of personal data between Japan and the European Union, which resulted in an agreement by leaders of Japan and the EU toward its establishment. In the Digital Agency, he was instrumental to the agency’s control tower function in implementing digital policy as a senior official, while focusing on a human resource management (HRM) strategy for a new type of government agency that actively utilizes external talent. He also gained experience in regional industry and labor policy during his assignment as Director of the Commerce and Labor Department of Oita Prefecture.

He graduated from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law, and earned his M.A in economics from Vanderbilt University. He was born on September 15, 1969, in Fukui Prefecture.