It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the passing of Dr. Kinzo INOUE.
Dr. Kinzo INOUE, Professor Emeritus of Kobe University, passed away at 0040 (JST) on 19 January 2026. Dr. Inoue was one of great contributors to the development of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU) in its early stage of the history.
Dr. Inoue was born in Kyoto in 1946 and graduated the Department of Nautical Sciences at the Kobe University of Mercantile Marine (KUMM) in September 1968. He joined Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) as a Deck officer and then an associate professor at Toyama National College of Maritime Technology before getting his position as an Associate Professor at the KUMM in 1981.
He obtained MSc in Maritime Sciences (KUMM) in 1978 and Ph.D. in Engineering (Kyoto) in 1985. He was promoted to a professor in 1990 and appointed as the master of the training ship, “Fukae-Maru” in 1992. In 2000, he was appointed as the Vice President of KUMM during which he organized the 2nd Annual General Assembly of IAMU.
His research interests were ship maneuvering performance, ship handling simulators, risk and safety assessment, port and harbor facility with several journal papers and textbooks. He supervised many doctoral theses of both Japanese and overseas candidates.
We pray from the bottom of our hearts that his soul may rest in peace and may his spirit of collaboration serve as our guideline for the further development of IAMU.
Takeshi Nakazawa
