Kazuto Ishida ( ja, 石田和外; May 20, 1903 – May 9, 1979) was the 5th

Chief Justice of Japan The is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Japan and is the head of the judicial branch of the Japanese government. The Chief Justice is ceremonially appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being nominated by the Cabinet Cabinet or The C ...

(1969–1973). He was a practitioner of

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

. He was a graduate of the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

. As an associate justice in the mid-1960s, Ishida penned a dissenting opinion in a Grand Bench decision limiting criminal prosecution of labor leaders. This was a contributing factor to his appointment as Chief Justice by Prime Minister

Eisaku Sato Eisaku (written: , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan *, Japanese politician *, Japanese shogi player *, Japanese painter *, ...

in 1968, in an attempt to give the court more conservative leadership at a time when Japan saw massive radical student demonstrations. One of Ishida's final decisions, in 1973, expanded police powers to punish demonstrators. Ishida's court was the first in a line of conservative Supreme Court benches that continued into the early 21st century. After his tenure as Chief Justice, Ishida formed the National Congress to Achieve Legislation of the Gengo System in order to establish a law authorizing the Emperor to determine

Japanese era names The , also known as , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being ""), followed by the literal ...

. Ishida was a recipient of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

and a member of the

All Japan Kendo Federation The All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF) or Zen Nihon Kendō Renmei (全日本剣道連盟 abbreviated 全剣連 ''Zen Ken Ren'') is a national non-governmental organization in Japan, founded in 1952 and officially formed on March 14, 1954. Purpose ...

References

Bibliography

*山本祐司『最高裁物語（上・下）』（日本評論社、1994年）（講談社+α文庫、1997年） 1903 births 1979 deaths Chief justices of Japan Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun University of Tokyo alumni People from Fukui Prefecture {{Japan-bio-stub