Tokyo Kagurazaka Law Office

Bridging Legal Practice and Medical Research

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About the Office

Tokyo Kagurazaka Law Office is a Japanese law firm with a particular focus on matters involving healthcare, medical research, scientific evidence, and maritime law.

Naoki Mizunuma practises as an attorney and registered maritime counsellor in Japan. He also holds a Doctor of Medical Science degree and serves as a Specially Appointed Professor at Fukushima Medical University, where he is engaged in academic research and education at the intersection of medicine and law. The firm is distinguished by this sustained integration of active legal practice with medical research.

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Legal Practice Informed by Medical Research

Matters involving medicine or science cannot be adequately addressed through statutes and case law alone. They frequently require close examination of medical records, expert opinions, scientific reports, research protocols, imaging and laboratory data, and the relevant academic literature.

The firm critically evaluates medical and scientific materials and, where appropriate, collaborates with physicians, researchers, and other specialists. Its analysis may be presented as legal opinions, research memoranda, litigation documents, research protocols, participant information and consent documents, institutional policies, or materials for research ethics committees.

As a registered maritime counsellor—a professional qualification under the Japanese marine accident inquiry system—Naoki Mizunuma also acts in marine accident inquiries and related judicial review proceedings, examining the relationship between technical navigational facts and their legal evaluation.

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Doctoral Research

Naoki Mizunuma’s doctoral research examined mental health risks during pregnancy and early parenthood among individuals who had experienced unintended pregnancy or fertility treatment.

Mizunuma N, Yamada K, Kimura T, et al. Mental health risks in pregnancy and early parenthood among male and female parents following unintended pregnancy or fertility treatment: a cross-sectional observational study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024;24:860. doi:10.1186/s12884-024-07082-x.

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Research Collaboration

We welcome academic and interdisciplinary collaboration in medical law, forensic medicine, patient safety, research ethics, bioethics, reproductive medicine, chronic pain, and the evaluation of scientific evidence.

Potential areas of collaboration include joint and comparative research, co-authored publications, academic presentations and symposia, comparative studies of healthcare and justice systems, review of research protocols and ethical issues, and interdisciplinary projects spanning law, medicine, and the natural sciences.

Research inquiries should briefly identify the proposed subject, objectives, anticipated contribution, participating institutions, and expected timetable.