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Okinawa and Its Agony: From a Former Judge's Perspective by Prof. Hiroshi Seg

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After thirty-three years of career service as a judge in Japan, I gave up my post to become a law school professor. My experience in participating in a ruling on a case at the District Court in Okinawa was a central reason for my decision to step down from the bench. I served as one of the judges on a case in which residents near the U.S. Kadena Air Base brought a suit demanding a ban on night flights due to the noise’s detrimental impact on their health. I regret the ruling in this case more than any other from my judicial career and will share this story with the audience today. I present my experiences in Okinawa within a cultural context and use it as a symbolic tale of serious problems with the Japanese judicial system. This case and other cases also illustrate the constraint placed on the legal system owing to Japan’s security treaty with the United States. As many are unaware of these important issues, I have focused my speaking and writing towards making these problems become better known and understood.

Event Sponsor
Center for Okinawan Studies and the Wm. S. Richardson School of Law Pacific-Asian Legal Studies Program, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Center for Okinawan Studies, (808) 956-5754, cos@hawaii.edu,