Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, since July 2010. Mr. Kondō served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Denmark. He drew up Japan's new public diplomacy strategy when he was Director-General of the Department of Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His major publications include Yugamerareru Nihon Image (Distorted Japanese Image; the Perception Game in Washington) (Kamakura Shunju Sha, 1997), Pari Marumezon no Mori kara (24 Essays from Boise de Malmaison) (Kamakura Shunju Sha, 2005), Bunka Gaiko no Saizensen nite (24 Essays on Culture Specificity and Generality from the Frontier of Cultural Diplomacy) (Kamakura Shunju Sha, 2008), and Gaikokan no A ra Karuto (A Diplomat’ s A La Carte) (Kamakura Shunju Sha, 2011).