Tribute for the late Katsuya Kodama from the APPRA leadershipDear IPRA Council members and friends, On this auspicious day in many respects it is with great sadness that I formally report the passing of our immediate past co-Secretary General, Japan's own Katsuya Kodama. Many of you know him as a bright figure presiding over the IPRA conference in Ahmedabad, India, or at the grand events at his own Mie University in Tsu, Japan. The son of Hibakusha / Hiroshima H-Bomb survivors, "Katz" was practically a peace activist from birth. His steadfast work helped serve IPRA as SG both in the recent administration shared with Ursula Oswald Spring (from 2016-2018), and in a past administrations as co-SG with Jake Lynch (from 2010-2012) and on his own (from 2000-2004). He was former Vice President of the International Social Science Council at UNESCO. It is an understatement to say that he will be profoundly missed. While we learned second-hand of his passing (which took place some months ago, in 2021), we have just now received confirmation of it from colleagues in Japan. The Chubu-Hokuriku regional group of the Peace Studies Association of Japan is planning a memorial event for later this year. Our colleague Kimijima Akihiko (past coordinator of Museums for Peace and IR Professor at Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University) wrote that it would be great for IPRA to plan our own tribute to Katz "no matter how small." With warmest regards, MattM Professor Matt Meyer co-Secretary General International Peace Research Association https://www.umass.edu/resistancestudies/about/people/matt-meyer |
