Tokiyasu Fujita


Tokiyasu Fujita is a Japanese jurist, former judge of the Supreme Court of Japan, Professor Emeritus of Tohoku University, member of the Japan Academy, and member of the Imperial Household Council. His specialty is administrative law. He was actively involved in the public debate surrounding the legal transformation of Japanese National Universities into corporations in 2004.

Professional background

Education

Career

Appointments

Rulings and legal opinions

  • Legal opinion on the Constitutionality of the Lower House Election of September 11, 2005 : Does the division system of single-member districts violate Article 14, Paragraph 1 et seq. of the Japanese Constitution?
  • Legal opinion: Is there a constitutional violation if regulative distinctions are made between party candidates and independent candidates in primary constituencies in the Lower House Election?
  • Legal opinion: does legitimation as necessary condition violate Article 14, Paragraph 1 of the Japanese Constitution?.
  • Legal opinion: does obligating a music teacher at Hino Municipal Elementary School by the principal to accompany the collective singing of the national anthem on the piano at the school entrance ceremony violate Article 19 of the Japanese Constitution?
  • Dismissal of the appeal of the trial of the Nishiyama Incident.
  • In the "Kôka Student Dormitory" case, in which the ownership of the dormitory acquired by the Republic of China before the country's diplomatic separation from Japan was in dispute, the presiding judge of the Third Small Senate suddenly resumed the proceedings 20 years after the appeal. The court ruled that the proceedings had been suspended due to the severance of diplomatic relations 35 years earlier, and that the decisions of the four lower courts were therefore moot. The court ordered that the case be reopened from the first trial and remanded the case to the Kyoto District Court. This ruling was criticized by Taiwan's legal team, led by Shigeru Oda, a former Judge of 27 years at the International Court of Justice, due to a "lack of knowledge of international law and understanding of historical facts".
  • Ruling in two appeals on the payment of a life insurance policy upon the simultaneous passing of a childless married couple, in which the wife was the beneficiary. The Court of Appeals ruled that only the wife's relatives could receive the premium and rejected appeals by the insurance company and agricultural cooperative, who claimed that "the husband's relatives also entitled to the premium."
  • The court ruled that original film works published in 1953 under the name of a collective were not covered by the extended term of copyright protection under the revised Copyright Act, and that this copyright therefore had expired on December 31, 2003. This overturned the view of the Agency for Cultural Affairs that film copyright would last until December 31st, 2023, and legally settled the so-called "1953 issue."
  • As the chief judge of the Third Main Court in the case of the series of kidnappings and murders of teenagers in Tokyo and Saitama from 1988 to 1989, on, he rejected the defense appeal against defendant Tsutomu Miyazaki on January 17, 2006, upholding the latter's death sentence.

Personal life

Family

His father Ichirō Fujita, was vice chairman of Fujita Gumi as well as a member of the Japanese Lower House for the Japan Socialist Party.

Philosophy of life

Know thyself and trust thyself!

Formative literature

Interests

Awards

Publications

As author

  • Kôkenryoku no kôshi to shiteki Kenri shucchô: Otto Beeru "Hôchikoku" no Tachiba to Doitsu Gyôsei Hôgaku
  • Nishi Doitsu no Tochihô to Nihon no Tochihô
  • Gyôsei Hôgaku no Shikô Keishiki
  • Gyôseihô no Kiso Riron
  • Gyôsei Soshikihô
  • Gendai Hôritsugaku Kôza Gyôseihô 1 Sôron
  • Saikôsai Kaisôroku Gakusha Hanji no Nana Nen Han
  • Gyôseihô Nyûmon
  • Shinban Gyôseihô Sôron

As editor

  • Kenpô to Gyôseihô: Kojima Kazushi Hakushi Tôhoku Daigaku Taishoku Kinen
  • Kenpô Ronshû Higuchi Yôichi Sensei Koki Kinenkan