Our Attorneys
Our Attorneys
Yumi Itakura
Greeting from Lawyer Itakura
Thank you for visiting our website.
I began practicing law after working in a private firm, 10 years after graduating from University with a degree in International Relations. What made me decide to become a civil rights lawyer was that through my own experience of being discriminated against, sometimes subtly and unintentionally and sometimes explicitly because of my gender as well as being Asian, I have seen that various kinds of discrimination and injustice do exist even persistently in this modern society and came to think that I wanted to realize an equal and inclusive society where everyone lives happily with self-confidence without any prejudice and discrimination based on individual trait and identity such as gender, nationality, ethnicity, social status and so on by using laws.
I specialize in labor and employment law (wrongful termination, forced resignation, workplace harassment), family law (international divorce, international inheritance, and child custody including the Hague Convention case, etc.), and immigration law (work/spouse visa petitions, permanent residence petitions, administrative litigation), although I also handle general civil cases.
Since the beginning of my legal career in 2005, I have been committed to providing legal access and justice to all those who need legal assistance, regardless of individual and business size, nationality, residency status, language, gender, income level, etc., especially in the three specific areas of law mentioned above.
Among other things, gender equality and anti-racial discrimination activities in family and employment law are my life’s work, so I have been involved in supporting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment as a legal expert.
I received my BA in International Relations from Tsuda University, qualified as a lawyer in Japan, and was also a visiting scholar at U.C Berkley Law School. Fluent in Japanese and English.
Educational and Career Background
Graduated from the International Relations Department, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Tsuda University
ITOCHU Logistics Co., Ltd.
UC Berkeley School of Law Visiting Scholar
2005 Admitted to Japan Federation of Bar Association
Adjunct lecture in Gender and Law, Faculty of Law, Aoyamagakuin University( 2019)
Adjunct lecture in Labor and Employment Law, Hitotsubashi Graduate School of Law, Business Law Department (2024)
Community and
Professional Involvement
- Member of the committee of gender equality, Japan Federation of Bar Associations (2007-)
- Permanent secretary of Japan Labor Lawer’s group (2007-)
- Legal Consultant at Labor Consultation Center of Tokyo Metropolitan Government (2016-)
- Secretariat member of lawyers for foreign workers in Japan (2018-)
- Visiting lecturer of Human Rights and Gender Law, Aoyama Gakuin University (2019)
- Member of the committee of Human Rights of foreigner, Tokyo Bar Association. (2019-)
- Chair of the subcommittee on the improvement of legal access for foreigners, Tokyo Bar Association (2020-)
- Member of The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Head Office, Chuo-Chapter as well as Business Women’s Club included)
- Legal study Group ( Group of Testament and Inheritance cases, Group of Family law cases) of Tokyo Bar Association
- Listed candidate lawyer of outside directors referral service of Tokyo Bar Association
- Listed Lawyer in lawyer referral service of the Japan Federation of Bar Association for Hague Convention Cases
- English-speaking lawyers listed in the Embassy in Japan of the U.S., the British, Australia and Italy
Publication
- Co-author Case study of Gender bias inside the law and the judicial system (2009) Akashi-Shoten
- Co-author Legal consultation skill and knowledge of labor cases (2013) Japan Labor Lawyers Group
- Co-author 70% of what is happening in your workplace are illegal (2014) Asahi Shin bun Shuppan
- Chief editorial writer Practical legal tips! Q & A regarding employment issues of foreign workers (2018) Rodo-Chosakai Shuppan
Major activities
- Lecturer of Japanese Law (family law and Labor law) at a series of legal seminars geared to officers of foreign consulates organized by Tokyo Public Law Office (Sep 2015)
- Speaker at Asia Pro bono conference in Malaysia (Sep 2016)
- Speaker at International Conference of Legal Aid and Legal Access to Justice organized by JFBA, JICA, and LAWASIA (Sep 2017)
- Panelist at ‘gender diversity is key to business success in Asia’ organized by HAYS, Japan (Nov 2017)
- Lecturer of Human trafficking in person in Japan, Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies of Temple University (Nov 2018)
- Speaker at a Media conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan regarding lawyers group representing female students discriminated at the entrance examination of Medical School (March 2019)
- Representative speaker from East Asian region, ’Shaping a People’s Trade Agenda’ APWLD 2019 Regional Consultation (August 2019)
- Lecturer at professional practice seminar about how to deal with gender-based harassment labor cases such as sexual harassment and maternity harassment, Tokyo Bar Association (April 2019)
- Lecturer of internal seminar geared to Tokyo metropolitan government officers, labor issues, and foreign workers. (July 2019)
- Lecturer of guidance about the new system to accept foreign workers, Kanagawa Labor Office. (July and August 2019 )
- Speaker of Legal Career seminar, how to Promote Your Career in the International Law fields, Japan Federation of Bar Association (September 2019)
- September 2019Lecturer of Labor Law seminar geared to foreigners working in Japan, organized by Tokyo Metropolitan government (September 2019)
- Speaker at Fresher’s camp of Tsuda University (May 2021)
- Lecturer of basic points on how to handle global and cross-border labor cases, geared to member lawyers of the Tokyo Bar Association (June 2021)