Ca' Foscari Honorary Fellowship Awarded to Professor Masaki Sakuramoto

On Wednesday, 6 November 2024, Ca' Foscari University awarded Prof. Masaki Sakuramoto the title of Honorary Fellow of the Academic Faculty. The ceremony took place in the presence of Deputy Rector Antonio Marcomini and the Director of the Department of Asian and North African Studies, Laura De Giorgi. Deputy Director of the Department of Economics, Alberto Urbani, delivered the Laudatio, welcoming Professor Sakuramoto on his own behalf and on behalf of both departments.

Prof. Urbani said: ‘The comparison between the laws of Masaki Sakuramoto's home country and those of Italy is a central focus of his scientific research for two main reasons. Firstly, many institutions of Japanese law have been influenced by the Italian legal system, both past and present. Secondly, Masaki Sakuramoto is well aware of a linguistic barrier that, in a way, connects Japan and Italy: most legal texts dealing with the Japanese legal system are published solely in Japanese, thus being challenging for scholars from other countries who want to fully appreciate the richness and nuances of Japanese law. In his studies, Professor Sakuramoto has often aimed to construct "bridges" between the two countries, frequently writing essays in English or Italian to make the legal knowledge of his home country accessible to non-Japanese speakers."

Professor Urbani emphasized the pleasure of welcoming Sakuramoto to the University’s honorary faculty. He also added “Congratulations, dear Masaki, and welcome back to Ca' Foscari, your academic home here in Italy!”

The ceremony concluded with Sakuramoto's keynote lecture titled "Debt Discharge: Future Perspectives."

Masaki Sakuramoto

Masaki Sakuramoto is a Professor in the Department of Business Law at Toyo University’s Faculty of Law. He has previously held the positions of Dean of the Faculty of Law and Chair of the Department of Business Law at the same institution.

He is lecturing on Insolvency Law, Civil Procedure Law, and Civil Execution Law, and is leading seminars on Bankruptcy Law and special seminars on Civil Procedure Law at the Graduate School (Master’s and Doctoral programs). He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Keio University and completed the Graduate School of Law, then studied at the University of Milan as a recipient of an Italian government scholarship (1992-1993).

Masaki Sakuramoto was a visiting researcher at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (2011-2012, 2018-2019) and has been a Cultore della Materia (External academic expert contributing to teaching and research activities) at its Department of Economics since 2022. He is now also a visiting professor in the Master’s and Doctoral programmes at the Graduate School of Musashino University in Tokyo and a researcher in the Institute of Italian Studies at Waseda University since 2017. He also served as a part-time lecturer at Keio University and Shinshu University Law School.

Masaki Sakuramoto specializes in insolvency law, with a focus on comparative research of discharge systems in Italian and Japanese insolvency law. In 2021, he authored the insolvency law chapter in the first comprehensive introductory scholarly work on Japanese law for Italian legal professionals. He is one of the seven founding members of the Italian-Japanese Comparative Law Association (founded in 2013), where he serves as a director and board member.

You can view the video of the ceremony here: