JFBA Visiting Scholars Program

The Sho Sato Program in Japanese and US Law established an exchange program in 1999 with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) to give Japanese attorneys engaged in public-interest activities the opportunity to spend a one-year residence of study and research at UC Berkeley. Former scholars have explored the topics of criminal law and criminal procedure in the United States; human rights protection; the cooperative relationship between private assistance organizations and lawyers for crime victims; attorney advocacy and issues of mental health care and assistance for crime victims; the practice of information disclosure; and the theory and practice of privacy.

The JFBA also has exchange agreements with New York University and the University of Illinois.

In May 2010, the Sho Sato Program and the JFBA held an invitational conference in Tokyo, Japan to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the JFBA Visiting Scholars Program.  To learn more about the conference, click here.


Meeting of JFBA delegation and labor law professors and lawyers, organized by Yumi Itakura, JFBA Fellow, Berkeley, January 2015

2021-2022

Kentaro Furuya
The Utilization of International Mediation in Cross-Border Transactions

Masayuki Kanazaki
Climate Change Lawsuits and Related Policies in the United States

2019-2020

Yuka Kato (Hashigaya)
The Collaboration Between Attorneys and Social Workers on Cases Involving the Elderly and Persons With Disabilities in Public Law Offices

Hiroaki Yamaoka
Legal Solutions For Infringement of Rights on the Internet in the United States

Haruna Takahashi
The Interpretation and Improvement of the Issue of “Reasonable Accommodation” Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA)

2018-2019

Keisuke Tomida
The “Sharing Economy” and Independent Contractors

2017-2018

Kazunori Furuya
Disclosure of State-Held Information and Discovery Used in the Judicial Review of Administrative Actions in the United States

2016-2017

Takehiko Kawame
US Correctional Treatment Systems and Practices with a Concentration on Death-Row and/Long-Term Inmates

Takuya Kawasaki
Criminal Trial Advocacy and the Practice of the Defense Counsel in the United States

2015-2016

Rie Nishida
Improving Defense Practice and Theory in Death Penalty Cases, and Developing Strategies to Achieve the Abolition of the Death Penalty

Takashi Tokushige
The Implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States

2014-2015

Yumi Itakura
The Employment and Labor Law System for Gender Equality in the United States

Hideki Wakai
The State of Biodiversity Conservation in the United States, with a Focus on the Effectiveness and Legal Framework of Biodiversity Offset and Its Possible Application in Japan

2013-2014

Suhyon Kim
The US Immigration System:  Legalizing the Stay of Undocumented Migrants in the United States

2012-2013

Takeshi Nakamura
The Eradication of Organized Crime in the United States and an Examination of the Witness Protection Program

2011-2012

Yorinobu Kunimoto
The Rights of Sick and Injured Children in Medical Institutions

2010-2011

Chiemi Nakajima
Treatment and Rehabilitation Countermeasures for Juvenile Crime in the United States

2009-2010

Yoko Kobayashi
The Cooperative Relationship Between Private Assistance Organizations and Lawyers for Crime Victims; and Attorney Advocacy and Issues of Mental Health Care Assistance for Crime Victims

2008-2009

Junichiro Makita
Information Disclosure and Privacy in the United States

2007-2008

Hiroko Yuhara
Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure in the United States

2006-2007

Mika Matusmoto
Challenges to Legal Services Delivery in Rural California

2005-2006

Mayumi Ikawa
Countermeasures against Organized Crime in the United States

2004-2005

Tomoko Ikenaga
A Comparison of Legal Aid in Japan and the United States

2003-2004

Hiroshi Kawatsu
Trial Advocacy for Saiban-in System

2001-2002

Masayuki Honda
Judicial Assistance to Developing Countries and Legal Clinic

2000-2001

Azusa Shidara
Training of Defense Lawyer in Japan