Atsuko Kanehara is Professor of Public International Law at Sophia University.
President of the Japanese Society of International Law and Vice President of the Japan Society of Ocean Policy.
She also serves as Councilor of Advisory Council for the National Headquarters for Ocean Policy of Japan, appointed by Prime Minister. She was an advocate for the Government of Japan in “Southern Bluefin Tuna” Cases, and a counsel for the Government of Japan in “Whaling in the Antarctic” Case. She is also serving as Councilor of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
She is also a member of the Governing Board of IMO International Maritime Law Institute, and Visiting Lecturer at the Institute (2007-2011, 2018-present).
She delivered a course of lectures at the Hague Academy of International Law, and her article based upon them was published in the Recueil des cours, Volume 399 (2019).
Her previous positions include, Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School, Cambridge, USA (1995-1997); the Netherland Institute for the Law of the Sea, Utrecht, Netherlands (2009); Leiden University, Faculty of Arts, Japan Studies, Leiden, Netherlands (2008); Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Faculty of Arts, Japan Studies, Leuven, Belgium (2007); Georgetown University Law Center, Washington D. C., USA (2017).