Lawyers

Lawyers

Lawyer

Shogo Watanabe

He registered as a lawyer in 1990. By that time, litigations on drug-induced HIV/AIDs had been fought in Tokyo, and He soon joined a lawyers’ group for the litigations. Meanwhile, He went to Thai-Burmese borders to research human rights situations in Burma. Once getting back to Japan, a lawyers’ group for Burmese refugees in Japan was formed, and He became first Secretary General of the lawyers’ group and have been working for refugees (current serving as Representative).In 1997, he was involved in a formation of the Japan Lawyers’ Network for Refugees (JLNR) that fostered information sharing among refugee law lawyers and worked for fair implementation and improvement of refugee determination system in Japan. He now serves as Representative of JLNR. For the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA),he serves as a member of Human Rights Protection Committee, as well as Chair of the Working Group on Refugees in the Committee. He also, recommended by JFBA, served as a member of Special Working Group on Refugee Status Determination System of the Ministry of Justice in 2014.Refugee issues are relevant to foreigners’ issues in a direct sense. Human rights situations of foreign nationals in Japan, however, reflect those of the Japanese. He will continue to work for those who need protection in Japan including refugees.

Japanese

Lawyer

Masako Suzuki

She has devoted her career to improving the situation of foreigners living in Japan for more than 20 years. She has handled various cases related to foreigners ranging from immigration and refugee assistance to family law and labor issues. She has also provided legal advice to foreign businesses. Moreover, she has tackled issues related to foreigners as a member of the bar association and NGOs.She is a vice-chair person of the Center for Promotion of International Legal Services of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), a co-representative of the Lawyers’Network for Foreigners (LNF), an executive board member of the International Human Rights Association, and a board member of Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees (JLNR).

B.A. Sophia University
LL.M. University of Virginia School of Law

Civil cases, Family cases, Labor cases, Immigration cases and Corporation cases

Japanese, English

Lawyer

Manami Honda

She, registered as a lawyer in 2007, has been working on cases related to foreigners and medical malpractice. For cases related to foreigners, she has worked on family reunification, problems relevant to residence status, refugee protection, and domestic relations. She has also proactively worked on social issues with massive effects including drug-induced type C hepatitis cases and the soil contamination of the expected relocation site of Tsukiji Fish Market. She has been acting as a deputy secretary general of the Lawyering Network for Foreigners (LNF). She served as a chair of the Working Group on International Human Rights, the Committee of Human Rights Protection in Daiichi Tokyo Bar Association, between 2011 and 2012, and now serves as a vice chair of the said Committee. She has also served as a chair person of the subcommittee for International Human Rights Protection, a branch of the Human Rights Protection Committee of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations since 2020. She, standing by the principle to realize a fundamental solution for a client, works on any and all cases.

Japanese

Lawyer

Ayane Odagawa

She has been dealing with various cases involving foreigners living in Japan in areas such as Immigration, Family law and Labour, and also providing legal advice to client’s business issues. She has also made a commitment toward refugee and stateless person assistances since her admittance to Daiich Tokyo Bar Association. She has devoted herself wholeheartedly to provide the best legal services in order to solve the problems. She is a Member of Committee on International Human Rights Issues, Special Committee on Refugee Recognition Issues (Japan Federation of Bar Associations) and also a Member of Committee on Human Rights Protection (Daiichi Tokyo Bar Association). She has served as a Board member of Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees (JLNR).

B.A. Waseda University J.D.
Kanagawa University Graduate School School of Law

Civil cases, Family cases, Labor cases, Immigration cases, Criminal cases and Corporation cases

Japanese, English