Mr. Iwase received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1979 and his Master of Science degree in 1981 from the University of Tokyo and an MBA degree from Dartmouth College, USA in 1988. After graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1981, he joined the Science and Technology Agency (STA), Government of Japan (in 2001, STA was incorporated into Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)). Since then, he has served as First Secretary (Science), Embassy of Japan in USA (1992); Director, International Affairs Division, STA (2000); Director, Vocational Education and Information Education Division, MEXT (2001); Director, Department of International Affairs, Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST) (2002); Director, Space Development and Utilization Division, MEXT (2004); Deputy Director-General, Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society (RISTEX), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) (2006). He is currently serving as Deputy Director-General, Science and Technology Policy Bureau, MEXT (since 2007).