Named in honor of Keiichi Kodaira (1937– ), who works mainly in stellar and galactic physics and served as president of IAU Commission 36 during 1982–1985. Scientific director of the Japanese National Large Telescope (SUBARU) project from its beginning, he played an essential role on its completion. He has been director of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan since 1994. (M 27331) _ _.
Discovered on 15-3-1993 in Kitami by Endate, K., Watanabe, K.