On July 25, 15 students from Japan who were participating in the JCI Japan Children United Nations Ambassador Programme visited the Permanent Mission of Japan and attended a briefing by Ambassador Kodama, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations.

Before the briefing, the students divided into five groups and made presentations on topics related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) such as poverty in Burkina Faso, education in Nepal, etc., and Ambassador Kodama made comments on each group’s presentation.

Then, Ambassador Kodama gave his briefing on MDGs to the students.  He explained that poverty and famine are among the key issues that need to be solved to achieve the MDGs.  The Ambassador also noted the importance of a holistic approach towards the issues in order to have sustainable development continue after 2015.  He, then, touched upon poverty in Japan which is becoming one of the nation’s growing concerns.  Lastly, the Ambassador introduced the result of a poll conducted by BBC World Service this year which suggests that Japan is the most positively viewed major nation in the world.  During the briefing, the students paid close attention to Ambassador Kodama’s explanations.