Honorary Member

  Dr. Okamoto completed his master’s course at the Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo in 1978 and joined the then Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (now NTT), where he has been engaged in research and development. After gaining his Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1988, he spent time overseas as a visiting assistant professor at the University of Waterloo, Canada (1989-90) and as a visiting researcher at AT&T Bell Laboratories (1994-95).
   In 2007, Dr. Okamoto was appointed director of Okamoto Research Laboratory, Information Sharing Platform Laboratories (now Secure Platform Laboratories), NTT. Currently, he works at NTT as a fellow and has part-time positions as a guest professor at the Graduate Schools of the University of Tokyo, the University of Tsukuba, and Kyoto University.
   Dr. Okamoto has been engaged in the cryptographic theory field over many years and has recorded impressive achievements in R&D and standards formulation in basic theory, and applications of cryptographic and authentication technologies.
   One example is a security evaluation for public-key encryption schemes based on elliptic curves. In 1991, Dr. Okamoto noted that this then dominant elliptic curve encryption schemes were vulnerable to what is now called a MOV attack. He defined a design guideline requiring that use of supersingular elliptic curves be avoided in order to ensure security of elliptic curve encryption. Elliptic curve encryption is widely used today because it enables high-speed encryption and authentication. His design guideline has been the most fundamental one applied to all elliptic curve encryption schemes that have been developed to date.
   In 1999, Dr. Okamoto was the first to develop a theory for generic construction of secure and efficient public key encryption schemes, known as the “Fujisaki-Okamoto (FO) transform.” This work paved the way for development of public key encryption schemes that are theoretically highly secure but practical and efficient. In addition, he developed a high-speed and secure public key encryption scheme, PSEC-KEM, based on the FO transform. PSEC-KEM has been adopted as a standard or as an item in lists of recommended encryption schemes by both domestic and international organizations, including ISO, NESSIE, and CRYPTREC. Thus, he has made a significant contribution to enhancement of security of global network systems.
   In addition to the above, he has been responsible for a number of globally recognized research results, such as encryption protocols for electronic money and electronic voting based on encryption and authentication technologies, and zero-knowledge proof theory, which plays an important role in designing encryption protocols.
   Within the IEICE, Dr. Okamoto has contributed to its development by serving as chair of the Technical Committee on Information Security, director of the Journal and Transactions, and vice-president of the Engineering Sciences Society. Outside the IEICE, he was a director of the International Association of Cryptology Research (IACR). He also served as a steering committee member, program committee chair, and executive committee chair for several international conferences in the field of cryptographic theory, thereby making significant contributions to development of this scientific field. In addition, he has devoted time and energy to numerous public activities, including serving as a member of the Committee for the Evaluation of Cryptographic Techniques (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)).

   In recognition of the above-mentioned achievements, Dr. Okamoto has received from the IEICE an Achievement Award, Kobayashi Memorial Achievement Award, Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award, and Best Paper Awards. Other accolades include the Telecommunications Advancement Foundation Award, Science and Technology Agency Award, METI Commerce and Information Policy Bureau Director Award, and a Medal with Purple Ribbon. He has been designated a fellow by the IEICE, Japan Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and IACR.

   As shown above, Dr. Okamoto has made outstanding contributions in both the cryptographic theory field and the electronics, information and communication field. Therefore, we confidently recommend that he be designated a fellow, honorary member of the IEICE.