Greetings to Our Alumni and Friends
A new academic year is fully underway at Columbia Law School. The Center for Japanese Legal Studies was very busy during 2024-2025. We would like to take this moment to let you know about some of our activities.
Nobuhisa Ishizuka
Executive Director
Center Activities
Welcome Back!
We had the pleasure of welcoming CLS students and scholars interested in Japan with a well attended in-person reception on September 3, 2025. We look forward to hosting more events through the 2025-2026 academic year.
Exploring Asian American Attrition in U.S. Law Firms
The Center continued its work with Justice Goodwin Liu of the Supreme Court of California on a study of attrition among Asian American and other underrepresented groups at U.S. law firms. The research has been supported by a $10,000 Anti-Racism Grant from the Law School. During the 2024-2025 year, two CLS students, Daniel Eem '27 and Vincent Lin '27, were hired for the project, which will culminate in a final report this year.
Supporting Student Research
James Lombardi ‘27 was hired as a research associate and helped with research into the allocation of authority between the executive branch and legislature for the exercise of force under Japanese national security law.
Tokyo Alumni Reception
Columbia Law School hosted its annual alumni reception in Tokyo in January. Dean Daniel Abebe and Nobuhisa Ishizuka met with alumni and shared updates about the Law School's upcoming projects and programs.
Student Activities
Morrison & Foerster Public Interest Fellowships in Japan
As in previous years, Morrison & Foerster LLP supported the Center for Japanese Legal Studies in awarding fully funded public-interest fellowships with Japanese organizations. Through this fellowship, Kailey Griffith participated in an internship in Tokyo with Human Rights Now this summer. Applications will be solicited for the 2026 Fellowships during January/February 2026.
Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu Fellowship
The Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu (NO&T) Fellowship helps Columbia Law School attract the top J.D. candidates in the country with a professional interest in Japan. The Center awarded NO&T Fellowships to three incoming students in the Class of 2028: Jetisha Edwards, C. Aiko Johnston, and Yuka Saji.
Shapiro Fellowship
The Center awards the Shapiro Fellowship to Columbia Law School students affiliated with the Center. The Isaac and Jacqueline Weiss Shapiro Fellowship supports research on Japanese law by Columbia Law School students working under the supervision of a Columbia University faculty member. This year’s fellowship will be awarded during the academic year.
NHK Student Group
The Center for Japanese Legal Studies would like to introduce the 2025-2026 leadership of Nihon Hōritsu Kenkyūkai (NHK) student group. Leadership includes Jocelyn Niwa Meyer as President, Xiuping Xiong as Treasurer, Jacob LaRose and Mika Sacré as Social Chairs, and Alex McOmie and Renata Shammo as Academic Chairs.
We extend our appreciation to the outgoing board, in which Isak McCune and Miki Yang served as Co-Presidents, Muling He served as Treasurer, Rita Lin and Shoki Yoda served as Social Chairs, and Chloe Hu served as Academic Chair.
Interested in NHK? Please feel free to contact NHK with any questions that you may have at [email protected].
University of Tokyo Faculty Exchange
One of the Center's flagship programs has been the Faculty exchange with the University of Tokyo. The Center administered the long-running faculty exchange program between CLS and the University of Tokyo, hosting visiting Japanese Professor Harata Hisashi, an expert in international private law, and Professor Hiroyuki Kohyama, an expert in Japanese tax law. In exchange, the Law School sent Jerome L. Greene Professor of Transactional Law Zohar Goshen, an expert in corporate law and governance, securities regulation, and corporate finance, and Harold R. Medina Professor of Procedural Jurisprudence Bert Huang, an expert in constitutional law, federal courts, and civil procedure.
Beyond Columbia Law School
In addition to the above-mentioned activities, Center Executive Director Nobuhisa Ishizuka has authored an article, Existential Threats and Deterrence: Japan's Legal Pathway to Enhanced Collective Security in Asia, for the American University International Law Review (Issue 2, Volume 40). He also published a commentary titled Judicial Action Nudging Japan Towards Marriage Equality (East Asia Forum, December 11, 2024).
Mr. Ishizuka participated in a symposium jointly sponsored by University College of London, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, and others titled Shareholder Activism in Japan, the EU, the UK and the US: A Comparative Study, at Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt. He gave a talk at a program titled Ancient & Traditional Approaches to Dispute Resolution: What Modern Practitioners Can Learn, organized by the New York State Bar Association’s Section on Dispute Resolution. He participated as a discussant at a Japan Conference sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Global Japan at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He also presented a lecture on Mergers & Acquisitions Essentials at the University of Connecticut School of Law.