Yukiko Arai appointed Director of the ILO Office for the Southern Cone of Latin America

SANTIAGO (ILO News) — The International Labour Organization (ILO) announces that Yukiko Arai has assumed her role as Director of the Decent Work Technical Support Team and ILO Country Office for the Southern Cone of Latin America, effective 1 April 2026.

© OIT

© OIT

A Japanese national, Arai brings extensive experience in labour policies and international cooperation. She holds a Master’s degree in International Economics, with advanced studies on Latin America, from Johns Hopkins University, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Keio University.

Prior to her appointment, she served as Deputy Director of the ILO Sectoral Policies Department (SECTOR) in Geneva. She was Director of the ILO Country Office for Argentina, and held various technical positions within the Organization, including Senior Specialist in the Enterprises Department in Geneva. She also worked on issues related to child labour and poverty reduction at the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok and at headquarters in Geneva. Before joining the ILO in 2001, she worked at the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, in Washington, D.C.

In 2013, she took leave to serve as Director of International Relations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games Bid Committee.

In recognition of her international career, she was named one of the “55 most influential women working on a global mission” by Forbes Japan in 2016, and one of the “100 most respected Japanese in the world” by Newsweek Japan in 2021.

In her new role, Arai will lead the ILO’s work in the Southern Cone, supporting its tripartite constituents—governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations—in promoting decent work through the strengthening of social dialogue in the region.