Keiichi Wada
Director, Washington, D.C. Office
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Keiichi Wada is the Director of the Washington, D.C., Office of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). He is responsible for providing key support for international space efforts for North and South America, working in tandem with various space agencies, including NASA and NOAA.
After joining JAXA in 2002 as an engineer, Wada spent many years supporting the development of Japan’s space cargo transportation capabilities, namely HTV, the H-II transfer vehicle. In his role as the Deputy Director of JAXA’s Houston’s office from 2012 to 2016, He worked with his international counterparts, including those at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, to plan the HTV launch.
After returning to Tokyo, he supported several international science and exploration missions with NASA, such as the XRISM (the X-ray astronomy satellite launched in 2023). He also spent six years as a senior researcher at JAXA Tsukuba Space Center’s R&D Division. He holds a bachelor’s degree in science and a master’s in astrophysics, both from Nagoya University in Japan.