Dimitri Vanoverbeke

Spring 2026 University of Tokyo (Todai) Exchange Visitor

Dimitri Vanoverbeke is Professor of Law and Society at the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics and the Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo, where he teaches sociology of law at both undergraduate and graduate level. His research spans law and society, crime and criminal policy, lay participation in criminal justice, policy making, judicial reform, and the role of legal institutions. He examines the interactions between law, politics, and society in modern and
contemporary Japan in both domestic and international contexts.
 

He has published over 100 academic articles on law and society in Japan and is the author or editor of numerous books. His monographs include Japan en de wereld: een stabiele democratie in een veranderende wereld [Japan and the World: A Stable Democracy in a Changing World] (Owl Publishers, 2026), Juries in the Japanese Legal System: The Continuing Struggle for Citizen Participation and Democracy (Routledge, Asian Law Series, 2015), and Recht en instellingen in Japan: Actuele thema’s in een historische context [Law and Institutions in Japan: Contemporary Issues in a Historical Perspective] (ACCO, 2010). His edited volumes include Law and Culture in Japan: Institutions, Justice, and Media (Emerald Publishing, 2025), Global Constitutionalism from European and East Asian Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 2018), and The Changing Role of Law in Japan: Empirical Studies in Culture, Society and Policy
Making (Edward Elgar, 2014).