Makoto Murata

Participant in the W3C XML Working Group that designed XML 1.0, Murata is a Japanese computer scientist who joined the group in 1997. Jon Bosak, James Clark, and Tim Bray were also members of the group. The Working Group designed XML 1.0, a markup language specification and a subset of SGML. XML 1.0 became a W3C Recommendation in February 1998.

He and James Clark of London, England designed RELAX NG, an XML schema language. Murata has served as the convener of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34 WG 4, responsible for Office Open XML maintenance. He and collaborators authored XML Japanese Profile, addressing the issues of using Japanese characters in XML documents. XML Japanese Profile became a JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) Technical Report, and was also translated into English and published as a W3C Technical Report.

He is one of the authors of IETF RFC 2376 XML Media Types. The RFC specifies XML media types for use in exchanging XML data via network (text/xml and application/xml). RFC 2376 was later revised as RFC 3023.

Murata and James Clark, along with some other people, held critical attitudes toward XML Schema. XML Schema is a modern XML schema language designed by the W3C XML Schema Working Group. W3C intended XML Schema to supersede traditional DTD (Document Type Definition). XML Schema supports so many features that its specification is large and complex. He, James Clark, and those who criticized XML Schema pointed out the following: 1. It is difficult to implement all features of XML Schema; 2. It is difficult for engineers to read and write XML Schema definitions; and 3. It does not permit nondeterministic content models.

He and collaborators designed another modern schema language, RELAX (Regular Language description for XML), which was simpler and more mathematically consistent. They published the RELAX specification in 2000, and RELAX was approved as JIS and ISO/IEC standards. At roughly the same time, James Clark also designed another schema language, TREX (Tree Regular Expressions for XML). Murata and James Clark then designed a new schema language, RELAX NG, based on TREX and RELAX Core. RELAX NG syntax is the expansion of TREX. RELAX NG was approved by OASIS in December 2001 and was also approved as Part 2 of ISO/IEC 19757: Document Schema Definition Languages (DSDL).

In April 2010, he made a presentation at JEPA on 14-itemized requirements as extended Japanese-language-related specifications to be incorporated into EPUB. When East Co., Ltd. started working on the project of EPUB enhancement for Japanese Text Layout, sponsored by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of the Japanese Government, Murata assumed the project's technical responsibilities. By jointly working with Tatsuo Kobayashi, et al., he called for other browser developers and owners to adopt the enhanced EPUB and support Japanese Text Layout, including vertical writing, line breaking rules, and emphasis dots. He has served as a coordinator of Enhanced Global Language Support (EGLS) for the US-based International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), developer and promoter of EPUB.

In 1982, Murata received his Bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Science, Kyoto University. In 1985, he joined Fuji Xerox. From 1993 to 1995, he researched structured documents at Xerox Webster Research Center. As of 1997, he worked at Fuji Xerox Information Systems on lease from Fuji Xerox. In 2000, he left Fuji Xerox.

From 2000 onward, Murata researched at International University of Japan. From 2000 to May 2008, he also researched at IBM Tokyo Research Laboratory. In July 2006, he obtained his Doctor's degree in Engineering from the Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering of the University of Tsukuba. From September 2008, he has served as a Fellow of the Center for Global Communications (GLOCOM), the International University of Japan.

In November 2009, he assumed the position of Technical Lead at Japan Electronic Publishing Association (JEPA) and subsequently led the EPUB Research Team of JEPA. From 2010, he has served as Vice Chairman of IVS Technology Promotion Council. He co-authored "XML and Java: Developing Web Applications, Second Edition" with Hiroshi Maruyama, Kent Tamura, Naohiko Uramoto, Andy Clark, Yuichi Nakamura, Ryo Neyama, Kazuya Kosaka, and Satoshi Hada, published by Addison-Wesley Professional in May 2002 (ISBN 0-201-77004-0). Additionally, Murata authored papers on structured documents.