Counsel Masashi Kitamura

Osaka Bar Association, Japan Federation of Bar Associations（2025）

Location ： Osaka Office

Practice Areas

      Professional Summary

      Since April 1988 to the present, I have given lectures on the Companies Act and the Commercial Code at Osaka City University (currently, Osaka Metropolitan University), Kyoto University and Kansai University, and also have been engaged in various studies of corporate law. I would like to work on various issues concerning corporate law practice by making use of the experience I have cultivated as a researcher in the field of corporate law.

      Education & Professional Experience

      April 2023 to the present
      Professor, School of Law, Kansai University, and Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University

      October 2021
      Vice-President (for Legal Affairs and Compliance), Kyoto University

      April 2017
      Assistant to the Executive Vice-President (for General Affairs), Kyoto University

      April 2004
      Professor, Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University

      July 2003
      Kyoto University (LL.D)

      April 2000
      Professor, Graduate School of Law, Osaka City University

      April 1988
      Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Osaka City University

      March 1988
      Withdrawal with Research Guidance Approval (Kenkyu Shido Nintei Taigaku), Doctoral Program, Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University

      March 1983
      Kyoto University (LL.B.)

      Activities

      April 2002 - November 2005
      Examiner of (conventional) bar examination

      December 2007 - February 2012
      Examiner of the certified public accountant examination

      May 2008-
      Director, The Air Law Institute of Japan

      October 2008 - March 2012, October 2014 - October 2016
      Director, Japan Association of Private Law

      May 2009 - March 2012
      Committee member, Research Project on Audit System in the Asia-Pacific Region, the Research and Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice

      December 2012 – March 2015
      Committee member, Research Project on System for Disclosure of Corporate Information in the Asia-Pacific Region, the Research and Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice

      October 2013 – November 2018
      Examiner of the bar and preliminary bar examinations

      November 2015 – November 2021
      Committee member, Research Project on Corporate Law Practice in the Asia-Pacific Region, the Research and Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice

      April 2017 – February 2019
      Member, Corporate Law Subcommittee (Related to Corporate Governance, etc.), the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice

      August 2019 - July 2020
      Member, “Study Group on the Processes of General Shareholders Meeting in the New Era,” the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

      Publications Archives

      2025
      Q&As concerning the Practice of the Companies Act I (Vol. 1 & 2) to VII
      2023
      Proposal by Shareholders of an Agenda Item for Election of Directors and Cumulative Voting
      2023
      Validity of Transfer of Shares with Restriction on Transfer Without Approval of the Company – Consideration of Relative Theory and Valid Theory
      2022
      Companies Act Case Exercise Materials 4th edition
      2022
      Standard Commercial Code I: General Provisions/Commercial Transactions Law of the Commercial Code 2nd edition
      2021
      Amendment of the Companies Act in 2019 (3) – Remuneration of Directors, etc.
      2021
      Issues in the Revision of the System of Organs in Stock Companies
      2020
      Virtual Shareholders Meetings and Shareholders’ Right to Participate in the Proceedings,
      2020
      Meaning of the Exercise of Voting Rights in Advance of a Shareholders Meeting and ‘Attendance’ Thereat – Based on the Judgment of the Tokyo High Court rendered on October 17, 2019
      2020
      Establishment of the System to Electronically Provide Materials for Shareholders Meetings
      2020
      Delivery of Shares
      2020
      Protection of Creditors and Principle of Good Faith and Fair Trading in Company Split – With Reference to the Supreme Court’s Decision rendered on January 19, 2017
      2018
      Consideration of the System of Organs in General Incorporated Associations – Memorandum for Comparative Study with Stock Companies
      2018
      Digitalization of Shareholders Meetings
      2018
      Standard Commercial Code I: General Provisions/Commercial Transactions Law of the Commercial Code
      2017
      Consideration of the System of Organs in General Incorporated Associations
      2016
      Corporate Governance Code
      2016
      Case Study: Companies Act
      2015
      Fraudulent Company Split and Protection of Creditors
      2015
      Protection of Shareholders of the Parent Company
      2015
      Protection of Creditors in Company Split, etc.
      2015
      Introduction to the Modern Companies Act 4th edition
      2015
      Primary Companies Act 4th edition
      2014
      Trends in Corporate Governance and the Amendment of the Companies Act
      2013
      Abusive Company Split and Right to Demand Revocation of a Fraudulent Act (Vol. 1 & 2)
      2011
      Supreme Court’s Decision in the Rakuten vs. TBS Case concerning Determination of the Stock Purchase Price and the Reference Time for the Calculation of a Fair Price
      2010
      Primary Commercial Code General Provisions/Commercial Transactions Law 3rd edition
      2009
      Headhunting of Employees and Directors’ Duty of Loyalty
      2009
      Competitive Transactions/Transactions Involving Conflict of Interest and Directors
      2007
      Companies Act Case Exercise Materials
      2007
      Introduction to the Modern Companies Act
      2004
      Primary Commercial Code General Provisions/Commercial Transactions Law
      2002
      Primary Companies Act
      2000
      Non-competition obligation of Directors

      Awards

      January 2001
      Osumi Kenichiro Award (Charitable Trust Osumi Legal Research Promotion Foundation)

      Languages

      Japanese

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