Born the son of a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1959 in Akitakata, Hiroshima,[2] Kodama has dedicated his research on peacebuilding and non-violent peace activism. He received a master's degree in sociology from Hiroshima University in 1984.[1] His research theme was the life histories of "Atomic Orphans" who lost their parents in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. After receiving a Ph.D in sociology from Lund University of Sweden in 1990[1] for his research on non-violent peace movements, he began his career at Mie University as Assistant Professor of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences[1] in Japan. Later he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1992[1] and further promoted to Professor in 2004 and then vice president in 2011. He is an author of various books on peace-building and sociology.[3]
He served as Secretary-General of International Peace Research Association (IPRA) from 2000 to 2004, and 2010 to 2012 and vice president of International Social Science Council (ISSC) at UNESCO from 2006 to 2010.[2] He was again elected as Secretary-General of IPRA for 2016 – 2020 at the IPRA Administrative Meeting held in Sierra Leonne in 2016.[4] He received Anuvrat Ahimsa (non-violence) International Peace Award from ANUVRAT Global Organization, India in 2012.[2]
He is currently assigned as a professor at Swarnim Startup & Innovation University (SSIU), India, and visiting scholar at International Research Institute of Aichi University, Japan, Sakarya University, Turkey, Tribhuvan University, Nepal and Malir University of Science & Technology, Pakistan.[5]
He is the founder of UBrainTV Co., Ltd., an Internet television company founded in 2013 in Nagoya, Japan.[6]
