2018 Philipp Franz von Siebold Award goes to Kanako Takayama of the Graduate School of Law (18 June 2018)

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Professor Takayama

On 28 June, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation announced Professor Kanako Takayama of the Graduate School of Law as the recipient of the 2018 Philipp Franz von Siebold Award, conferred by the Federal Republic of Germany.

Established in 1978 and now in its 40th year, the Siebold Award annually recognizes outstanding contributions by Japanese scholars to mutual understanding of culture and society between Germany and Japan. It is presented in person by the Federal President, and widely regarded as the highest German award for Japanese researchers.

Professor Takayama became the eighth KyotoU-affiliated awardee, the first one being Dr Shosaku Numa (1929-1992), who studied and taught at the Faculty of Medicine.

An award ceremony took place Thursday 28 June as part of the Humboldt Foundation's annual meeting at Belluvue Palace in Berlin, the presidential residence.

Comments from the awardee

Since first going to study in Germany, I have attended numerous international academic gatherings, many of them leading to opportunities to conduct and publish studies with German scholars. These experiences would not have been possible without the constant stream of support I have been receiving from Japan and abroad all these years. I am especially grateful to my colleagues at Kyoto who have continued to provide me with all the material and moral support I need for my work.

When I applied for a fellowship at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation many years ago, I was the only Japanese to do so in the field of legal studies. Now I am delighted to note that, after a period of relative decline, Japanese-German academic exchange seems to have begun flourishing again.

My primary areas of research concern criminal law, especially basic theory and international and comparative studies, where German scholars are leading the world. I have recently been involved in the formulation of laws and guidelines related to new advances in science and technology. What I realize now is that tackling issues associated with cutting-edge fields requires, and benefits from, an analytical approach grounded in fundamentals.

With Japanese theories of law now attracting widespread attention from Asia and other parts of the world, I hope to contribute to the international community by devising and proposing a legal framework for improving global human welfare.

About the awardee

Born in July 1968, Kanako Takayama graduated in 1991 from Department II of the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law. She then went on to the UTokyo Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, where in 1993 she completed a master's program and began her professional career as a research assistant. In 1996, she became a lecturer at the Seijo University Faculty of Law. After spending the years 1999-2000 at the University of Cologne as a Humboldt research fellow, she returned to Seijo to become an associate professor. In 2002, she moved to the KyotoU Graduate School of Law, where she has been serving as a professor since 2005.

In 2006, she was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Her current positions include deputy secretary general of the International Association of Penal Law (AIDP/IAPL, since 2004), executive member of the Criminal Law Society of Japan (since 2009), executive member of Japanisch-Deutsche Gesellschaft für Rechtswissenschaft (society of German-Japanese law, since 2009), executive member of the Humboldt Association of Japan (since 2013), corresponding member of Gesellschaft für Rechtsvergleichung (society for comparative law, since 2016), and member of the Science Council of Japan (since 2017).

Her primary focus of research is criminal law.

Reasons for the award

Professor Takayama is cited for her services in promoting German-Japanese relations in the field of legal studies. She has been successful in encouraging greater interest in German law among young Japanese lawyers, and active in organizing forums for young scholars.

These wide-ranging educational contributions, as well as her outstanding scholarly achievements, are the reasons for Professor Takayama being recognized with the 2018 Siebold Award.

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