Toshiyuki Kono, distinguished professor of Kyushu University, Japan. Toshiyuki Kono was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1958. After graduating from the Faculty of Law, Kyoto University, he went on to obtain his LL.M. from the Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University. He is a specialist in private international law, international civil procedure law, and international cultural heritage law. He was a member of UNESCO’s Expert Groups for the drafting of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005). He was appointed as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 2011. After working as vice president, he was elected as the 8th president of ICOMOS in 2017. As the former president, he continues as an honorary president of ICOMOS. He is the series editor of Springer’s book series Perspectives in Law, Business and Innovation.
Junko Okahashi is currently an associate professor in international cultural cooperation at the University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo, Japan. She holds a Ph.D. in Arts and Sciences (Area Studies) from the University of Tokyo. As a staff member and programme specialist of UNESCO from 2002 to 2011, she assisted states parties to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. She continued to advocate for the implementation of their cultural heritage policies, in particular through formulating World Heritage site management plans in Asia and activating the process of World Heritage periodic reporting in Africa. Her research quest in cultural heritage policies and the theory/philosophy of conservation is sought through a combination of document-based work and fieldwork. She investigates the correlation and compatibility between multilateral governance of international norms related to cultural heritage (WorldHeritage, import and export of cultural properties, intangible cultural heritage, cultural diversity, historic urban landscapes) and case-specific on-site conditions, in an attempt to harmonize local needs and international orientations.