Program of Workshop in KUBEC on the 31st Oct. and the 1st Nov. 2019
【Theme】
The Rule of Law, Democracy and Constitutionalism: Dialogue between Japan andEurope【Purpose of the Workshop】
The year 2019 is a historical turning point for both Japan and Europe. There has been
the imperial succession in Japan, when the new Emperor, who is the third Emperor
since the Japanese Constitution of 1947, acceded to the throne. In Europe, this year
marks the 70th Anniversary of the German Fundamental Law (GG), the 30thAnniversary of the Fall of Berlin Wall and also the 30th Anniversary of the first Free
Elections in Poland. Moreover, the European Union enters the 10th year since theenforcement of The Lisbon Treaty, and the EU-Japan EPA/SPA enters into force thisyear.
In spite of so many important anniversaries, however, the Constitutionalism including
the principles of the rule of law and democracy in both Japan and Europe is now
wavering. The amendment of the Constitution has become one of the most important
problems on the political level in Japan. Due to its difficulty under the JapaneseConstitution, neither the Diet nor the Supreme Court, but the Cabinet changes thenormative contents of the Japanese Constitution, esp. Article 9 which makes thenormative contents of the principle of Pacifism concrete, by its interpretation. Thisapproach of the Cabinet depends on the numbers of the representatives in the Diet only
by emphasizing the principle of the Parliamentary Democracy and ParliamentaryGovernment. Europe has seen an upsurge of populism due to the refugee and migrantcrisis, and as the results of the European Parliament Elections this year showed, thenumber of the representatives belonging to the anti-EU parties has increased. Thereare more clouds on the horizon for the European Union also because of the uncertainty
surrounding Brexit. Moreover, Germany whose legal system has a very strong impact
on the Japanese one, has seen the AfD, one of the extreme right parties, come to the fore,
and the prospect of the post-Merkel regime is currently opaque under the German
Constitutionalism. In Poland, the PiS regime is now developing its peculiar
Constitutionalism in opposition to the EU, while its characteristics are seen as illiberal
democracy.
At such time, we must re-consider the normative contents of the fundamental principlesof the Constitutionalism including the rule of law, democracy and the guarantee of the1fundamental rights in both Japan and European countries with the EU Law’s level
together. Taking into account the current situation in both Japan and Europe, we will
discuss the problems surrounding the Japanese and European Constitutionalism from acomparative viewpoint. From the Japanese side, we will give presentations about suchproblems in comparison with the European side. From the European side, we hope thatthe presentations will be given concerning such problems in each country including theEU Law’s level. Although the presentations may not always necessarily correspond toeach other, this Workshop aims to strengthen and deepen the mutual understanding ofConstitutionalism between Japan and Europe, including the EU.
【Date】The 31st October (Thursday) and the 1st November (Friday) 2019
【Place】
Kobe University Brussels European Centre (KUBEC)
www.office.kobe-u.ac.jp/ipiep/materials/access.pdf【Time Schedule】
・The 31st October (Thursday)
13:30 ~: Opening Remarks: Prof. Dr. INOUE, Noriyuki (Kobe Univ.: Japan)
14:00~14:45: Japan-EU relationship from the economic aspects:Prof. Dr. Masahiko Yoshii (Kobe Univ.: Japan);„Impacts of the Japan-EU EPA on the two economic regions and the global order＂
Prof. Dr. Kirsten Schmalenbach (Salzburg, Austria)„ Non-trade Clausures in the Japan-EU EPA: Rule of Law, Human Right &Environment”
Discussion
14:45~15:00: Coffee Break
15:00~17:00: Aspects about the guarantee of Human Rights in Japan and Europe
Prof. Dr. UEKI, Atsushi (Meijo Univ., Nagoya):Discrimination because of Nationality from the comparative viewpoint of Japan, theUnited States and the EU.
2

Ass. Prof. Dr. HARUNA, Maki (Shitennouji Univ., Osaka):
Legal Problem concerning Family and LGBT under the System of the Guarantee ofEuropean Fundamental Rights in comparison with the Japanese one.
Lecturer Dr. TAKAHASHI, Kazuhiro (Toho Univ., Chiba):
The Right to be forgotten and the System of the Protection of Private Data incomparison between Japan and Europe.
Discussion about the Themes of each Presentation
18:30 Dinner with all participants together
・The 1st November (Friday)
10:30~12:00: The rule of law in turmoil
Prof. Dr. Maciej Serowaniec (Torun, Poland)"Contemporary challenges of the judiciary in Poland.
Prof. Dr. Zbigniewowi Witkowskieu (Torun, Poland)"The lawmaking process in Poland - theory and practice".
Prof. Dr. Cristina Fasone (LUISS Univ. in Rome: Italy)“The rule of law crisis in Italy in the framework of the European Union”
12:00~14:00: Lunch Break
14:00~15:00: Migration and Refugee in Japan and Europe
Prof. MONDEN, Takashi (Hiroshima Univ.):
Japanese Legal Problems concerning Migration as foreign workers in comparison withEuropean one.
Prof. SEKINE, Yuki (Kobe Univ.: Japan):
Evolutions in Social Security and Immigration Laws: their interactions and hints fromEU Case Law
15:00~15:15: Coffee Break315:15~16:30:
Prof. Dr. Markus Kotzur (Hamburg Univ.: Germany):„The rule of law under pressure – the role of the European Union as „normative power““
Prof. Dr. Noriyuki Inoue (Kobe Univ.: Japan)„Constitutionalism beyond National-Border as the Universal Value”
16:30~17:30: Discussion about the Themes of each Presentation【Time of each Presentation】 about 20~30 minutes【Language】 English【Participant】
Prof. Dr. Noriyuki Inoue (Kobe Univ.: Japan)
Prof. SEKINE, Yuki (Kobe Univ.: Japan):Prof. Dr. Masahiko Yoshii (Kobe Univ.: Japan)
Prof. MONDEN, Takashi (Hiroshima Univ.):
Ass. Prof. Dr. HARUNA, Maki (Shitennouji Univ., Osaka)
Prof. Dr. UEKI, Atsushi (Meijo Univ., Nagoya):Lecturer Dr. TAKAHASHI, Kazuhiro (Toho Univ., Chiba)
Prof. Dr. Markus Kotzur (Hamburg Univ.: Germany)
Prof. Dr. Kirsten Schmalenbach (Salzburg, Austria)
Prof. Dr. Maciej Serowaniec (Torun, Poland)Prof. Dr. Zbigniewowi Witkowskieu (Torun, Poland)Prof. Dr. Cristina Fasone (LUISS Univ. in Rome: Italy)

4