Yuzuru Shimada is a Professor at the Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University, Japan, specializing in Law and Development as well as Comparative Asian Legal Systems. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Law from Kanazawa University in March 1993. He continued his postgraduate education at the Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University, obtaining his Master of Arts in March 1995 and his Ph.D. in International Development Studies in March 2002.
Professor Shimada began his academic career as a Research Fellow at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) from 2003 to 2005, followed by a post as Lecturer at the Faculty of Foreign Studies, Nagoya University of Foreign Studies from 2005 to 2007, where he taught Introduction to Law and Information Literacy. In 2007, he joined the Graduate School of International Development at Nagoya University as an Associate Professor, subsequently being appointed to full Professor in 2016. His international research experience includes serving as an exchange student at the Faculty of Social and Political Science, Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia (1997–1998) funded by a scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, a Visiting Researcher at the Institute of Developing Economies (JETRO, 1999–2000), and a Visiting Researcher at the Van Vollenhoven Institute at Leiden University, the Netherlands (2012–2013), focusing on Indonesian legal history and the development of the judicial system.
His main research interests focus on Indonesian constitutional law, judicial system history, legal transplants, freedom of expression, and disaster management legal frameworks. Professor Shimada has led and secured numerous research grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and other organizations. His key research projects include investigating the transplantation of modern constitutions and democracy to Southeast Asian nations (2024–2028), post-authoritarian constitutionalism during Indonesia’s reformation era (2019–2025), comparative judicial systems between Indonesia and the Netherlands (2013–2016), and rule of law actors in democratization processes (2009–2012).
Professor Shimada has published extensively in English and Bahasa Indonesia on post-authoritarian constitutional politics, legal changes under Joko Widodo’s administration, comparative legal methodology, and legal frameworks for disaster management. He is also a frequent speaker at major international conferences, including meetings organized by the Asian Law Institute (ASLI), EuroSEAS, and the Asian Law and Society Association (ALSA). For academic correspondence, he can be contacted at the Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusaku, Nagoya, Japan, via email at shimadayuzuru@gsid.nagoya-u.ac.jp
Profile Dr. H. Panji Widagdo, S.H., M.H.
September 9, 2026
