United Nations

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Hatsuhisa Takashima as the Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Tokyo.  He will take up his duties on 1 September 2000.

Mr. Takashima is a national of Japan with a distinguished career in broadcast journalism.  As the Executive Controller-General of administration and broadcasting of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), he was in charge of NHK television and radio broadcasting, both programming and management.  In that capacity, he hosted various television programmes, including “Message for the Twenty-first Century”, a monthly one-hour interview programme with prominent world figures.  During his long career with NHK, from 1963 to 2000, he held a wide range of functions, such as foreign correspondent in Washington, D.C.; Chief of Bureau, London; Anchor and Editor of “News 21”; Director General, NHK News; Director of International Relations and Policy Planning, as well as Chief Commentator.

Mr. Takashima has closely associated himself with the United Nations through his coverage of United Nations conferences and production of special programmes on United Nations activities.  He represented NHK in the United Nations World Television Forum of 1998.  He has written several significant publications on national and international issues, and was a member of several national commissions of international cultural exchange.

Born and educated in Tokyo, Mr. Takashima has a degree in political science.