■ Office with 90-year History and Legendary Lawyers ■
History of Office
1917
Nagawa Law Office was founded.
1975
Nagawa-Okamura Law Firm was established.
2000
Katsutoshi Suzuki was appointed as Managing Attorney of the Nagawa-Okamura Law Firm.
2005
Nagama-Imasaka Law Office was established.
Public Positions Engaged: A member of the House of Representatives; Vice Minister of the Railways; Chairman of the Daiichi Tokyo Bar Association
“Spirit of Liberalism”: On March 7, 1940, the plenary session floor of the House of Representative was wrapped by the tense atmosphere. Prior to this session, Takao Saito had accused the military authorities of the China Incident on February 2, which gave impetus to the authorities allied with their followers to voting for depriving Saito from his status as a member of the House of Representative. On the voting day, most of those who were against this move were absent from the session, but seven members including Kanichi Nagawa were present there to decisively demonstrate their objection against the voting even in vain.
With this voting as a turning point, party politics was collapsed and Japan broke into the World War II. Hitoshi Ashida, one of the seven liberal members who voted against the military authorities, later became a Prime Minister in 1948 after the war. He was however got involved in Shoden Incident, and all of the cabinet members were arrested including him. In this case, Yasuo Nagawa, the second managing attorney of the Nagawa Law Office, and his colleagues made great contribution to win non-guilty for Ashida.
Public Positions Engaged: A Member of National Safety Committee; Managing Director of Meiji University; Vice President of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations; President of Tokyo Bar Association
“Spirit of Free-Standing”: In 1958, the Supreme Court had repeatedly requested Yasuo Nagawa to accept the position of the Director of the Supreme Court. If he had agreed, he would have been the second Director of the Supreme Court from the non-governmental sector after Shunzo Kobayashi. Yasuo Nagawa, however, firmly declined this offer, as he wanted to continue his legal activities from a standpoint of private lawyer, free from any authorities. Deeply impressed by his attitude, Hayato Ikeda, the then prime minister, recommended him as a member of the National Safety Committee. Coupled with persuasion of Shigeo Nagano, one of his respected friends, he finally accepted the offer, and contributed to the national safety for no less than 10 years since then.
Public Positions Engaged: Director of Meiji University;Director of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music; Chairman of the Incorporated Foundation for Legal Aid Association; Managing Director of the Nikikai Opera Foundation
“Spirit of Defiance”: Since his high-school days, Ryoichi Okamura studied under Yukio Ozaki, the father of Japanese constitutionalism, and participated in his canvassing tours for advocating criticism on the wartime cabinet. The young Okamura full of wit and spirit of defiance received ardent guidance from Ozaki who gave Okamura his writings of famous verses, one of which “Standard of the Right and Wrong”, is displayed in the center of the office of the Nagawa-Okamura Law Firm as the guiding principle of attorney’s practice.