Kazuhiro Watanabe
Counsel
- Lawyer (Toyko office)
During his 35 years of employment with various prosecutors’ offices throughout Japan, Kazuhiro Watanabe spent approximately half his time as a prosecutor and the half in planning and drafting legislation within the Ministry of Justice. Kazuhiro joined Higashimachi’s Tokyo office in 2010 after leaving his final posting as the chief prosecutor in the Sapporo High Court. He also taught as a law school professor until 2017 and has been appointed as an external director and auditor of listed companies. In addition, he continues to serve on review committees for administrative agencies.
Professional History
| 1946 | Born in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan |
|---|---|
| 1971 | Graduated from Kyoto University Faculty of Law; passed Bar exam |
| 1974 | Completed legal training; appointed public prosecutor Became prosecutor, Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office |
| 1975 | Prosecutor, Morioka District Public Prosecutors Office |
| 1978 | Prosecutor, Urawa District Public Prosecutors Office, Kumagaya branch |
| 1980 | Prosecutor, Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office |
| 1981 | Prosecutor, Cabinet Secretariat with the Ministry of Justice, secretarial section |
| 1982 | Acting Private Secretary to the Minister of Justice |
| 1983 | Prosecutor, Criminal Affairs Bureau |
| 1986 | Prosecutor, Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office |
| 1988 | Prosecutor Instructor, Judicial Research and Training Institute |
| 1991 | Prosecutor, Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office |
| 1992 | Councillor, Criminal Affairs Bureau |
| 1993 | Councillor, Minister’s Secretariat |
| 1994 | Director, Human Rights Bureau |
| 1995 | Director, Criminal Affairs Bureau Legislative Division |
| 1996～1998 | Lecturer (Special Criminal Law), Keio University faculty of law |
| 1998 | Deputy Director General, Minister of Justice Secretariat |
| 2000～2002 | Adjunct instructor, Doshisha University Graduate School of Policy Studies |
| 2001 | Prosecutor, Public Prosecutor’s Office |
| 2002 | Chief public prosecutor, Nara District Public Prosecutors Office |
| 2004 | Chief public prosecutor, Maebashi District Public Prosecutors Office |
| 2005 | Chief public prosecutor, Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office |
| 2007 | Chief public prosecutor, Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office |
| 2008 | Superintending Prosecutor, Sapporo District Public Prosecutors Office |
| 2009 | Retired; Registered as a lawyer (Daiichi Tokyo Bar Association) |
| 2009〜2017 | Professor, Tokai University Professional Graduate School of Law Practices (Law School) |
| 2010 | Joined Higashimachi LPC |
| 2010〜2017 | Public Prosecutors and Notaries Public Appointment Examination Committee member Auditor (part-time), Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc. |
| 2010〜2014 | External Director, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group |
| 2011 | Member of contract supervision committee, The Japan Foundation |
| 2013〜2018 | Member of defence procurement review committee, Ministry of Defense |
| 2014〜2015 | External auditor, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings |
| 2015〜2019 | External director, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings |
Publications
| New Developments in Criminal Procedure, Vol. I, (co-author) Seibundoh, 2017 |
| New Developments in Criminal Procedure, Vol. II (co-author) Seibundoh, 2017 |
| Joukai Keihou (third edition) (co-author), Koubundou 2014 |
| Commercial Criminal Law, Vol. VII (third edition) (co-author), Seirin Shoin, 2014 |
| New Criminal Law Procedure II (co-author), Yuyusha 2002 |
| New Criminal Law Procedure III (co-author), Yuyusha 2002 |