Board of Trustees

Mr. Rikiya Sakamoto is Professor of Law at the Nihon University College of Law in Japan where he has been teaching U.S. laws namely in the areas of Constitutional Law, Contracts, Torts and International Dispute Resolution from Japanese law perspectives since 2003. Before joining the faculty of the Nihon University College of Law, Mr. Sakamoto engaged in practicing international commercial litigation in the United States as a New York State-licensed attorney as well as a foreign law attorney licensed in Japan (called Gaikokuho Jimu Bengoshi in Japanese). Mr. Sakamoto taught a course of “International Litigation & Arbitration in Japan” as a visiting professor at U.C. Hastings College of the Law and served as a visiting scholar at Pennsylvania State University Law School where he engaged in a study on the global system of arbitration. Mr. Sakamoto received legal education in both Japan and United States, obtaining a Bachelor of Law degree at Nihon University College of Law and Master of Law and Master of Comparative Law degrees at Tulane Law School.

LEGAL EDUCATION

• Tulane Law School, M.C.L. (Master of Comparative Law) (1995)  New Orleans, LA
• Tulane Law School, LL.M. (Mater of Law) (1994)  New Orleans, LA
• Nihon University College of Law, LL.B. (Bachelor of Law) (1991)  Tokyo, Japan

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

• Professor of Law (April 2017 to Present)
  Nihon University College of Law, Graduate School of Law
  Tokyo, Japan
• Professor of Law (April 2016 to March 2017)
  Nihon University Law School
  Tokyo, Japan
• Visiting Scholar (August 2014 to September 2015)
  Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law
  Research Topic: International Arbitration
  State College, PA
• Lecturer of Law (April 2014 to March 2017)
  Professor of Law (April 2013 to March 2014);
  Associate Professor of Law (April 2010 to March 2013)
  Nihon University College of Law, Graduate School of Intellectual Property
  Tokyo, Japan
• Professor of Law (April 2013 to Present)
  Associate Professor of Law (April 2006 to March 2013) Lecturer of Law (April 2003 to March 2006)
  Nihon University College of Law
  Tokyo, Japan
• Visiting Professor (Spring 2011)
  University of California, Hastings College of the Law
  San Francisco, CA
  Subject Taught: International Litigation and Arbitration in Japan
• Lecturer of Law (September 2006 to March 2014; September 2015 to Present)
  Chuo Law School
  Tokyo, Japan
  Subjects Taught: Anglo-American Contracts; Anglo-American Torts; and Anglo-American Torts Case Law Seminar; Primer on International Dispute Resolution; Practice of International Commercial Arbitration

LEGAL EXPERIENCE

• Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi (Attorney at Foreign Law) (2002 to 2014; 2016 to Present)
  Sakamoto Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi Jimusho (Sakamoto Foreign Law Office)
  Tokyo, Japan
  Duties included providing advice on legal issues in international commercial arbitration and litigation.
• Associate (1998 to 2003)
  Lovell & Stewart, LLP
  New York, NY
  Duties included the handling of practice of international commercial litigation in the U.S.

BAR ADMISSIONS

Admitted to practice in Japan as Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi (Registered Foreign Lawyer in Japan)
Admitted to practice in the State of New York

OTHER PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS

• Accredited Mediator (2019 to Present)
  CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution)
  London, England
• Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators [FCIArb] (2017 to Present)
  Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
  London, England
• Arbitrator/Mediator List (2013 to Present)
  The Japan Sports Arbitration Agency (JSAA)
  Tokyo, Japan
• Administrative Counselor (Japanese Ombudsman) (2009 to 2014; 2016 to Present) Commissioned by the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communication
  Tokyo, Japan
• Appointed Scholar (2007 to 2008)
  The Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA)
  Tokyo, Japan
  Research Study Project: The Activation of International Commercial Arbitration in Japan

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

American Bar Association
New York City Bar Association
Tokyo Bar Association
Academy of International Business Transactions
Japan Society of Comparative Law
Japanese American Society for Legal Studies
Japanese Association for Ombudsman Studies
Japan Association of the Law of Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution