On 8 May 2012, Ambassador Kazuo Kodama, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, gave a brief lecture to 16 journalism students from Columbia University at their campus in New York City. Invited by Professor Richard Wald, a professor of national affairs, broadcast and print journalism and with an extensive background in the field of journalism, Ambassador Kodama spoke on the importance of journalism with a historical perspective, comparing news reports on the recent democratic developments in Myanmar as an example. He furthermore likened the journalist to a surgeon on the front lines of events, using the democratic principles as their tools to analyze the situations which they report on.

      After opening the floor to questions from the students, Ambassador Kodama fielded questions ranging from Japan’s past and present relationship with China, the United Nations response to the situation in Syria, as well as the Japanese perspective on the recent moves in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Ambassador spoke honestly and frankly to the students on the national policies of Japan as well as on his own personal experiences and perspectives. The students held a lively discussion with Ambassador Kodama while they enjoyed the last day of class for the Spring 2012 semester, and they looked forward to keeping in touch with the Permanent Mission of Japan to the UN in their future endeavors as journalists.

      This was Ambassador Kodama’s second time as Professor Wald’s guest speaker at Columbia University.