is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

jurist and lawyer who served as the 19th Chief 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 ...

from 2018 to 2022.

Early life and education

Ōtani was born in Akabira,

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

, Japan. He graduated 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 in 1975, and became an Assistant Judge of the

Tokyo District Court is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the ...

in 1977. He became a Judge of the Tokyo District Court in 1994, a Professor at the Legal Training and Research Institute in 1995, and later served as a Judge of the Tokyo High Court in 2010. He became the Chief Judge of the Shizuoka District Court in 2011. Before becoming Chief Justice, Ōtani was the President of the Osaka High Court and was also one of the Justices of the Supreme Court. He previously served as the Director-General of the Criminal Affairs Bureau and the Personnel Affairs Bureau, and as the Secretary-General of the Supreme Court, and is known for his role in designing the lay judge system of Japan.

Chief Justice

At age 65, Ōtani replaced Itsurō Terada as Chief Justice on January 9, 2018, when Terada reached the date of his retirement. Ōtani as Chief Justice, was formally appointed by the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

after being nominated by the Cabinet; which in practice, is known to be under the recommendation of the former Chief Justice. He stepped down as Chief Justice in 2022 as he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70, and was succeeded by associate justice Saburo Tokura in June 2022.

References

External links

Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ōtani, Naoto Chief justices of Japan Living people University of Tokyo alumni 1952 births People from Hokkaido Japanese judges