Keizo Yamamoto

Keizo Yamamoto is a Professor at Kyoto University's Faculty of Law and a Visiting Scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg. He is renowned for his expertise in Japanese civil law, particularly his role in reforming the law of obligations in Japan, which was enacted in 2020. His work bridges comparative law, focusing on integrating Japanese legal perspectives into global legal discourse. Yamamoto has held significant roles, including membership in Japan’s parliamentary committee for legal reform and a Humboldt Fellowship at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. His research emphasizes the evolution of civil law amid Europeanization, technologization, and politicization of legal frameworks.

Yamamoto’s academic contributions include publications in the Zeitschrift für Japanisches Recht/Journal of Japanese Law and the Materialien zum ausländischen und internationalen Privatrecht series. He advocates for comparative law to include non-European systems, addressing gaps in cross-cultural legal scholarship. His collaboration with the Max Planck Institute since 2008 has fostered a robust exchange program, particularly for early-career researchers, leveraging Kyoto University’s strengths in comparative legal studies and Hamburg’s global comparative law community.

He has conducted extended research stays in Hamburg, including a 10-month sabbatical, and actively participates in international symposia. His insights highlight parallels between legal developments in Japan and Germany, driven by shared influences like economic analysis and technological trends. Yamamoto views the Kyoto-Hamburg partnership as a model for advancing comparative legal scholarship.