Yuko Miyazaki is a lawyer and former justice of the

Supreme Court of Japan The , located in Hayabusachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law. It has the power of judicial review, which allows it t ...

, serving from 2018 to 2021. She was born on 9 July 1951. Miyazaki earned her legal education respectively from 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 b ...

(Faculty of Law; 1976) and Harvard Law School (1984). In 1979, after having worked as a legal apprentice, Miyazaki registered with the Daiichi Tokyo Bar Association and began practicing as a taxation attorney. In 1979, she was hired as a permanent attorney at the law firm Nagashima & Ohno. She became legal counsel for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

in 1984. Miyazaki also taught as a visiting professor at

Tokyo University , 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 ...

and Kyoto University. In January 2018, she became the sixth female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan. Miyazaki is noted as foregoing tradition and becoming the first justice to issue rulings under her maiden name. Members of the Supreme Court have a mandatory retirement age of 70, so Miyazaki retired in 2021. She is appointed as International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court for the period of 5 January 2022 to 4 January 2024.

Notable rulings

Separate last names case

On June 23, 2021, Miyazaki dissented in 11-4 decision involving a married couple that wished to have their marriage registration accepted under separate last names. The majority found that the provisions of the Civil Code of Japan and the Family Register Act that require married couples to have the same last name do not violate Article 24 of the Japanese Constitution, but in a dissenting option with Katsuya Uga, they would have ordered the city to accept their marriage registration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miyazaki, Yuko Supreme Court of Japan justices University of Tokyo alumni Harvard Law School alumni Academic staff of the University of Tokyo Academic staff of Kyoto University 1951 births Living people

Notable rulings

Separate last names case

See also

References