Kentaro Nishimoto is Associate Professor of International Law at the School of Law, Tohoku University, Japan, where he is also Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Public Policy. His research focuses on the international law of the sea, including issues such as the history of the law of the sea, sustainable development of ocean resources and the settlement of maritime disputes. He is advisor to the Japanese delegation to the intergovernmental conference on marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).