Yasushi Watanabe is a full Professor and the Chair of the Department of Earth Resource Science at Akita University. He earned a Ph.D. in Geology at Hokkaido University in 1996. After graduating from Hokkaido University, he joined the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ), and was engaged in domestic geological mapping projects, as well as study of hydrothermal mineral deposits in Japan and circum Pacific region. After the reorganization of the GSJ as National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology （AIST） in 2001, he led the Mineral Resource Research Group of AIST, which evaluated mineral potential of critical metals including rare earth elements worldwide. In 2014 he moved to Akita University as a professor and expanded research field to magmatic, metamorphic and weathering mineral deposits with graduate students from southern Africa, Asia and Europe. He was awarded Shiokawa Prize from the Rare Earth Society of Japan (2017), Regional Vice President Lecturer (2004), Honorable Lecturer (2006-2013) and International Exchange Lecturer (2019) of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). He served as the Regional Vice President for Asia (2005-2009), Executive Board (2007-2010) and Vice President (2012-2014) of SEG , and an editorial board member (2005-2009, 2012-2015) of "Economic Geology". He has also been serving as Executive Board of the Society of Resource Geology (2004-present) and Editor-in-Chief of "Resource Geology" (2010-2014, 2020-present).