Scholarship Without Borders: UH Law Strengthens Japan Partnerships

Joshua D. Faumuina ’26 and Dr. Brandon Marc Higa (J.D. ’19, S.J.D. ’24) recently returned from their second research tour in Japan, where they served as featured speakers for a series of guest lectures and academic symposia on constitutional law and marriage equality. Their visit highlights the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law’s enduring global reach and the next generation of scholars advancing its international reputation.

Faumuina and Dr. Higa met with leading Japanese legal scholars and civil society advocates in three jurisdictions actively shaping Japan’s legal landscape on marriage and partnership rights. Their findings will appear in the Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal, in an upcoming Comment examining five High Court decisions that reflect growing judicial support for marriage equality in Japan. Their ongoing partnership with the Lawyers for LGBTQ and Allies Network secured permission to re-publish the English language translations for these High Court decisions.

At Aichi University Law School, the pair joined in commemorating the tenth year anniversary of the school’s partnership agreement with Richardson. Dr. Higa was hosted as a visiting lecturer for its Faculty of Law and Graduate School of Law, which Aichi Law School Dean, Professor Dr. Junko UEDA commended as the celebration of the renewal of exchange with Richardson. Dr. Ueda shared in a public statement, “In 2015, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law and Aichi Law School signed an agreement to deepen our academic exchange. Although our collaboration was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I am delighted that we are able to resume it this academic year and host this public symposium with a leading expert from the University of Hawaiʻi.” Through this faculty exchange, Aichi has previously hosted Professor Mark A. Levin, and most recently, Dan Barnett.

During this visit, Faumuina met with Aichi University law students preparing for the 2026 Hawaiʻi Study Tour, hosted by Spencer Kimura, and participated in an interview with Professor Naoko TATEISHI about his Second Year Seminar paper discussing the key differences in Japan and the U.S. family law concerning de facto marriage recognition for same-sex couples. 

Dr. Higa’s lecture, Constitutional Values and Changing Societies: The Evolution of Same-Sex Marriage Legalization in Japan and the U.S., reached more than 300 undergraduate law majors. He was featured as a keynote speaker for the symposium, The Pursuit of Gender Justice in the Wake of Same-Sex Marriage Rulings, alongside LGBTQ+ advocates Seiko Matsuoka and Yoko Mizutani, the attorney who successfully led the same-sex marriage legalization cases in the Nagoya District Court (2023) and Nagoya High Court (2025). 

The University of Osaka Global Japanese Studies Education and Research Incubator hosted Dr. Higa for a special presentation at their Global Japanese Studies Research Workshop. The event, From Obergefell to Osaka: Comparative Constitutionalism and Judicial Pathways to Marriage Equality in Japan and the United States, featured an interdisciplinary presentation examining how the courts and legislatures in Japan and the U.S. have shaped the rights of same-sex couples. Discussants James “JD” Parker, Crown Prince Akihito Fellow, and Kyoto-based Attorney Shiki TOMIMASU highlighted the opportunity for international human rights education to promote integration of LGBTQ+ families as partnership certifications approach nationwide coverage throughout Japan’s municipalities. This event was hosted by Professor Shouya UNODA and Dr. Facundo GARASINO.

At the invitation of Hakuoh University, Faumuina and Dr. Higa gave guest lectures to more than 75 law majors on Japan-U.S. comparative constitutional law, and encouraged the law students to consider future legal education opportunities through Richardson’s LL.M. and A.J.D. programs. This visit builds upon the Aloha Law Program and institutional partnerships with several University of Hawaiʻi campuses that serve as academic pathways to Richardson for undergraduate law majors at Hakuoh and UH campuses. This visit was hosted by law professors Hiroyuki YUZURIHA and Mari HIRAYAMA, and will be featured in a forthcoming issue of Hakuoh Review of Law and Politics. 

This research tour continues the legacy of the Hawaiʻi Study Tour, a cornerstone of UH Law’s partnership with Japan initiated by Professor Mark A. Levin and Spencer Kimura. Through the scholarship of Faumuina and Dr. Higa, Richardson reaffirms its mission to cultivate international collaboration, prepare globally minded Richardson lawyers, and ensure that CJ’s legacy thrives through academic partnerships with prestigious law schools in Japan.

The outcomes of both research tours will be featured in Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal (APLPJ) Volume 27-2, forthcoming in December 2025. This issue will include a comprehensive summary of Japan’s five High Court decisions on marriage equality, accompanied by English-language translations prepared by the Lawyers for LGBT & Allies Network (LLAN) and Attorney & Lecturer in Law Makoto Messersmith (A.J.D. ’23). The publication is being developed under the supervision of APLPJ Editor Mason Kenton and Co-Editors-in-Chief Travis Kon and Courtnee Collins, reflecting Richardson’s continuing contributions to comparative constitutional scholarship and international legal education.