Yoshiyuki Yamamoto

Yoshiyuki Yamamoto was the special advisor for UN Engagement and Blockchain Technology at United Nations Office for Project Services from 2016-2019.

Yamamoto has been exploring the possibilities of blockchain technology for the United Nations and international aid work as expressed in his article, Could bitcoin technology revolutionize aid distribution? (LinkedIn, Nov 30, 2017). 

He is a co-editor of the book “Legal Aspects of Blockchain” published by UNOPS and Dutch Blockchain Pilot Project sponsored by Netherlands Government. Within UN Innovation Network. 

He has more than 25 years of experience in the UN system, having spent his first 15 years working for UNHCR, IOM, UN RC/HC Office, PKO in the post-conflict areas such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan and Iraq with a year break as an Associate Professor for a graduate school of law in Japan for 2003-04. In 2007 he joined UNOPS HQ in Copenhagen, and then UNOPS NY in 2009 where he adopted various digital solutions as the Director for UNOPS Peace and Security Centre managing PKO and humanitarian projects in 23 countries. 

He attended Osaka University, University of Southern California and Oxford University and holds B.A., LL. B and LL.M. His major is quantitative analysis of law. He published a book titled “Kabul Note” in 2001, which was ranked in top 10 for seven weeks at Amazon.co.jp.

In a recent interview, Yamamoto spoke about the UN partnership with IOTA: 

"We are working with the IOTA Foundation to identify the most appropriate use cases for the first 'proof of concept', to help address some of the challenges that the UN as a whole faces when working in the field. It’s very much a collaborative process. We are learning about their technology, and they are learning about our unique challenges and tech needs. The idea is to work iteratively, scoping out the use case and figuring out which missing puzzle pieces IOTA’s technology can supply. As we identify gaps in the proposed test solution or additional elements that need to be added, we’ll work together with IOTA to identify and involve suitable other partners as well."