Ambassador Kazuo Kodama, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, visited Los Angeles to participate in lecture meetings hosted by the Japan America Society of Southern California and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council from November 28th to December 1st.

At the VIP dinner on November 29th (remarks), Ambassador Kodama discussed terrorism in the Middle East and riots in China, insisting that ‘the virtue of tolerance is firmly anchored in the belief that each one of us is an agent entitled to live a life of dignity irrespective of whatever different identities each one of us has in this world’. He also talked about his views on the recent elections in the United States and the result of Proposition 30 in California.

At the luncheon on November 30th (speech), Ambassador Kodama lectured about the challenges confronting the world, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region in particular. He pointed out four main trends which have been shaping the world; namely the ‘Maintenance of Peace’, the ‘Expansion of Independent Nation States’, ‘Liberal Democracy’ and ‘Market Economies’. He stated that ‘the combination of peace, nationalism, liberal democracies and market economies have given humanity unprecedented affluence and material happiness’. He then talked about his views on the issues of demographic change, fiscal deficits, territorial disputes, Japan-China and Japan- Republic of Korea relations, as well as the Middle East. Finally, he emphasized the importance of the presence of the United Nations in New York and welcomed ‘the U.S. lead in addressing global challenges including nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation of WMD and the fight against global warming’.

 
Remarks by Ambassador Kodama at the VIP Dinner
Speech on `Challenges in Asia and the World: Democracy, Nationalism and Secularism’ at the Luncheon