Justices of the Supreme Court

Justice
HAYASHI, Michiharu
Date of Birth: August 31, 1957

image:HAYASHI, Michiharu

Career

Education:

Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law in 1980

Qualification:

Appointed as a legal apprentice in 1980

Professional Career:

1982
Appointed as a Judge, and then, assigned to Tokyo District Court, Civil affairs Bureau, Supreme Court, Private Pension Division, Pension Bureau of Ministry of Health and Welfare, Sapporo District/Family Court
1992
Judge, Tokyo District Court
1993
Counselor, Civil Affairs Bureau, Supreme Court
1996
Director, Second Division, Civil Affairs Bureau, Supreme Court
1999
Director, First and Third Division, Civil Affairs Bureau, Supreme Court
2002
Judge, Tokyo High Court
2003
Presiding Judge, Tokyo District Court
2005
Professor, Legal Training and Research Institute
2005
Director of the Secretariat, Legal Training and Research Institute
2009
Director-General, Civil Affairs Bureau and Administrative Affairs Bureau, Supreme Court
2010
Director-General, Financial Bureau, Supreme Court
2013
Chief Judge, Shizuoka District Court
2014
Presiding Judge, Tokyo High Court
2014
Chief Judicial Research Official, Supreme Court
2018
President, Tokyo High Court
2019
September 2, 2019 Justice of the Supreme Court

Motto, hobbies, etc.

Things to Keep in Mind as a Justice

There are no two disputes or cases that are the same among those we deal with at court. Therefore, I intend to see each dispute or case from multilateral perspectives and gain a full understanding of its realities and facts from the circumstances behind it, in an effort to reach a solution or judgment that is best fit to it. To make this possible, I try to always have a healthy sense of curiosity about various things.

Favorite Word or Term

"One chance in a lifetime" "Seek advice from many people"
In my life, I have met many people in and outside the court and received advice and instructions from them. These encounters have helped me grow into the legal professional I am today. I want to further develop such interactions with various people and also want to convey what I have learned from experience to those younger than me.

Books that Left an Impression on Me

While in the office of the chief judge at the Shizuoka District Court, I took interest in Imagawa Yoshimoto's law in the period of the warring states. Since then, I have been hooked on medieval history focusing on laws and trials and have been reading related books when I have a chance to buy them. Among these books, Kenka Ryoseibai no Tanjo (Birth of kenka ryoseibai—the law of equal punishment on both parties in a quarrel) written by Katsuyuki Shimizu, Chuseijin to no Taiwa (Dialogue with medieval people) written by Hiroshi Kasamatsu, and Muromachijin no Seishin (Spirit of people in the Muromachi Period) written by Eiji Sakurai, were interesting and exciting.

Hobbies

In addition to watching live sports games (baseball, soccer, and basketball) with my eldest son, I love reading books of any genre. I go to the bookstore every week to buy books, mainly paperbacks, or sometimes just to see books when I have no plan to buy one. I am sad that many small bookstores in the town have closed recently. I also love going to see both live-action and animated science fiction movies (featuring space, AI, time travel, parallel worlds, dystopias, etc.). This summer, just before becoming a Supreme Court Justice, I went to the cinema with my family and enjoyed Tenki no Ko (Weathering with You), the latest movie directed by Makoto Shinkai.

  1. About the Supreme Court
    1. Access to the Supreme Court
    2. Organization Chart of the Supreme Court
    3. Justices of the supreme court
      1. TOKURA Saburo
      2. MIYAMA Takuya
      3. MIURA Mamoru
      4. KUSANO Koichi
      5. UGA Katsuya
      6. HAYASHI Michiharu
      7. OKAMURA Kazumi
      8. NAGAMINE Yasumasa
      9. YASUNAMI Ryosuke
      10. WATANABE Eriko
      11. OKA Masaaki
      12. SAKAI Toru
      13. IMASAKI Yukihiko
      14. OJIMA Akira
      15. MIYAGAWA Mitsuko
      16. Former Justices
    4. Topics
      1. Message on the 25th anniversary of Japan becoming an observer to the CoE
      2. FY2020 Study Meeting on Foreign Judiciary Practices
      3. Online Lecture by Former Senior Judge of the Court of Protection in the U.K.
      4. FY2021 Study Meeting on Foreign Judiciary Practices
      5. Online lecture meeting with the director of École nationale des greffes
      6. Online meeting between the judiciaries of the UK and Japan
      7. Japan-France Online Judicial Meeting
      8. Notice on Measures against COVID-19
      9. Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      10. The former Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      11. The President of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Thailand Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      12. The Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      13. The Judge of the European Court of Human Rights Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      14. Judges from Germany, U.K. and U.S. Visit the Supreme Court of Japan
      15. Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam visits the
      16. The Minister of Justice of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      17. The Attorney General of the Ministry of Justice of Israel Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      18. The Attorney General of Malaysia Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      19. Chief Justice of Canada Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      20. The President of the German-Japanese Association of Jurists Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      21. The Head of Division, Administrative, Finance and Social Courts, Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection of Germany Visits the Supreme Court of Japan
      22. Participants of “Japan-France Law Conference” Visit the Supreme Court of Japan
      23. Participants of “Japan-Germany Constitutional Conversation” Visit the Supreme Court of Japan
      24. Judges who speak in JSIP2019 Visit the Supreme Court of Japan
      25. Errata in Court Decisions Posted on the Japanese Version of the Court Website and in the Supreme Court Civil and Criminal Case Law Report
      26. Online Seminar between the Court of Cassation, France, and the Supreme Court, Japan
      27. Online lecture meeting with Master of the Rolls in England and Wales
      28. The Honorary President of the German-Japanese Association of Jurists Visited the Supreme Court of Japan
      29. Online Judicial Meeting with Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
      30. Outline of the Press Conference by Chief Justice TOKURA on Constitution Memorial Day (2023.5)
      31. Outline of the Press Conference by Chief Justice Tokura on 24 June, 2022
      32. Online lecture was held by the President of the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf, Germany.
      33. Chief Justice TOKURA and Justice NAGAMINE received British Ambassador to Japan at the Supreme Court
      34. Online Judicial Meeting with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
      35. Online Judicial Meeting with President of the European Court of Human Rights
      36. Justices of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Thailand visited the Supreme Court of Japan(2023.2)
      37. Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Johannes Masing, former Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, visited the Supreme Court of Japan
      38. President of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic visited the Supreme Court of Japan
      39. Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Kingdom of Thailand visited the Supreme Court of Japan
      40. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Thailand visited the Supreme Court of Japan
      41. Chief Justice of the Supreme People‘s Court of Vietnam visited the Supreme Court of Japan
      42. Online Judicial Meeting with the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
      43. Justice of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia visited the Supreme Court of Japan
      44. President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia visited the Supreme Court of Japan
      45. President of the Supreme Court of Iceland visited the Supreme Court of Japan
      46. A delegation of the German-Japanese Association of Jurists visited the Supreme Court of Japan.
      47. The Supreme Court of Japan invited The Right Hon The Lord Reed of Allermuir, President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
    5. Committees