Dr. Kuniko Inoguchi was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary as Head of the Delegation of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2003, a role she undertook with great skill and proficiency. During her term, which she completed in April 2004, Dr. Inoguchi attained the challenging post of President to the Conference on Disarmament from 18 August to 31 December 2003, and her efforts during this tenure were highly commended by Member States. She also served as Western Group co-ordinator at the commencement of the 2004 session of the Conference on Disarmament.

 

In October 2002, in addition to her duties as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Conference on Disarmament, Dr. Inoguchi was appointed Chairperson-Designate of the United Nations First Biennial Meeting of States on Small Arms and Light Weapons, held in New York in July 2003. In this capacity, Dr. Inoguchi instigated numerous consultations with States, regional and international organisations and non-governmental organisations in the lead-up to the Meeting.  As Chairperson, she led the Meeting to a successful conclusion with her unfailing drive and enthusiasm.

 

Furthermore, Dr. Inoguchi served as co-chair to the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, an intersessional body of the Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction in 2004. In this capacity, Dr. Inoguchi attended the 2004 Reay Group Workshop on Progress in meeting the aims of the Ottawa Convention in South Eastern Europe, held in Bucharest.

 

Dr. Inoguchi has also made an invaluable contribution in her capacity as Board Member of the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), and Member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, particularly in the field of disarmament and reconciliation.

 

During her term as Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, Dr. Inoguchi participated in numerous television programmes and documentaries. She also contributed articles to various newspapers and periodicals on a wide range of topics in order to further the cause of disarmament and world peace.

 

Prior to her appointment as Ambassador, Dr. Inoguchi taught first as Associate Professor, then Professor, in the Faculty of Law at Sophia University, Tokyo, from 1981 to 2002.  During this period, she was also a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs. She was selected in 1993 among one of 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow.

 

Dr. Inoguchi has been requested by her Government to serve on a number of Councils, including the Prime Minister’s Defence Policy Review Council, the Prime Minister’s Administrative Reform Council and the Prime Minister’s Gender Equity Council.  She was also a member of the Special Committee on ITER Project.  On the academic side, Dr. Inoguchi has served as an executive member of both the Japan Association for International Relations and the Japan Association of Gaming and Simulation, among others.  In addition, she has served as a lecturer at civil service training institutions and a commentator on foreign policy and international affairs for newspapers and television.

 

Her publications include War and Peace (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1989, in Japanese), which earned her the Yoshino Sakuzo Prize, An Emerging Post-Hegemonic System: Choices for Japan (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo, 1987, in Japanese), Invitation to Political Science (co-authored, Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo, 1989, in Japanese) and academic articles published in various journals.

 

Dr. Inoguchi received a Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University in 1982.  She also received an M.A. from Yale University in 1977 and a B.A. from Sophia University in 1975.  Dr. Inoguchi is married and has two daughters.