Team of the Department of East Asian Law

Director
Jun-Prof Dr Julius Weitzdörfer
- Junior Professor of East Asian Law, particularly Japanese Law
- LLB, BA, Dipl-Jur, Dr Iur, MA (Cantab)
- julius.weitzdörfer
Academic Staff

Dr Anna Katharina Suzuki-Klasen
- Research Associate
- LLB (Norwich), MLB, Dr Iur
- anna.suzuki-klasen

Leon Ritter
- Research Associate
- BA Economics and Politics of East Asia, MA Politics of East Asia, PhD student Political Science
- leon.ritter

Julia Beatrix Süße
- Research Assistant
- BA Japanese Studies, MA Japanese Studies, PhD student Japanese History
- julia.suesse

Leonard Sebastian Kosub
- Student Assistant
- Studying German Law and International and Comparative Law
- leonard.kosub

Nathalie Forkert
- Research Assistant
- BA Social and Cultural Anthropology, MA East Asian Studies / Korean Studies
- nathalie.forkert

Wataru Ono
- Graduate Student Assistent
- BSc, Master's Programme German as a foreign and second language
- wataru.ono
Lecturers

District Court Judge Johannes Kimmeskamp
- External Lecturer and Examiner
- Judge at the District Court Hattingen

Prof Tomoaki Kurishima
- External Lecturer and Examiner
- Professor at Saitama University

Presiding Regional Court Judge Gregor Stevens
- External Lecturer and Examiner
- Presiding Judge at Regional Court Potsdam
Former Academic Staff
Dr Frank Siegfanz

- Head of Department
Jan-Martin Haruo Wilhelm

- Head of Department
Johann In-Ho Kim

- Head of Department
Ricarda Schwarzbart

- Research Assistant
- 2023-2024
Natsuko Yamagishi

- Research Assistant
- 2023-2024
- BA
Stephanie Krampe

- Research Associate
- 2021-2023
- BA
Karina Hermes

- Research Associate
- 2022-2023
- MA
Marc Nalenz

- Research Assistant
- 2021-2023
- BA
Dennis Bertram

- Student Assistant
- 2021-2022
- MA
Daniela Ditte

- Trainee Lawyer
- 2022
Aki Kobayashi

- Research Assistant
- 2011-2012
Dr. Koeksal Sahin

- Research Associate
Shizuka Rein

- Research Associate
- LLM
Magdalena Maria Stolz

- Student Assistant
- 2009-2012
Prof Masaru Hayakawa

- Adjunct Examiner
RA Prof Hiroshi Sakata

- Adjunct Examiner
Prof Dr Dr hc Hans Georg Leser

- Adjunct Examiner
Prof Tamotsu Isomura

- Adjunct Examiner
Prof Zentaro Kitagawa

- Adjunct Examiner
Prof Keizo Yamamoto

- Adjunct Examiner
Prof Kunihiro Nakata

- Adjunct Examiner
Prof Hidetake Akamatsu

- Adjunct Examiner
Photos of Team Events
From 10 to 11 November 2024, the department's team met for its fourth intensive workshop at the Leipzig campus. On 11 November Prof Dr Utsumi (Yokohama National University, currently University of Halle) gave a guest lecture on the topic of "Criminal Policy in Japan". German-Japanese Lawyers' Association subsequently hostet a get together.

From 15 to 16 July 2023, the department's team met for its second intensive workshop at the Berlin campus. Prof Dr Tomoaki Kurishima gave a guest lecture on the topic of "Challenges to freedom of expression and assembly in Japan as reflected in recent court decisions"; Dr Laurence O'Hara, MPP (Harvard), commented from a German perspective.

From 21 to 22 October 2022, the Department of East Asian Law (former. Department of Japanese Law) at the FernUniversität met with academics from the Department of Japanese Studies at Leipzig University for an intensive exchange at a first intensive workshop at the Leipzig campus. Guest speakers were Prof Mayu Terada on "AI and Law in Japan" and Prof Kazushige Doi on "Citizens’ Committee and Mandatory Indictment in Japanese Criminal Proceedings’.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Department of Japanese Law (now Department of East Asian Law) and 160 years of friendship between Japan and Germany, the team met over 100 guests at a ceremony and an adjacent international symposium entitled "Extra-Judicial Dispute Resolution in Germany and Japan" at the Japan Foundation in Cologne from 30 September to 1 October 2021.

The department‘s team met in Hagen on 23 August 2021 for its first meeting after the pandemic to begin work on the book collection of the Library of East Asian Law.