1. Consultations from sexual minorities

One area to which I devote my particular effort as an attorney is the issue of LGBT rights; in other words, the rights of sexual minorities, including lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender individuals. The consultations I receive cover a wide range of matters, including disadvantages arising from the lack of legal recognition for same-sex partnerships, discriminatory treatment and harassment in the workplace, and troubles stemming from rejection by family members. Upon hearing the word "lawyer," some may imagine a glamorous profession. In reality, however, most of my daily work consists of carefully listening to clients, engaging in detailed clarification of their positions, and conducting a step-by-step search for possible solutions.

Even today, some of my clients wonder aloud if they deserve to exist in society.

When they visit my office for the first time, many of my clients carry pain they have been unable to share with anyone until that moment. Each time this happens, I feel proud of my profession and a renewed awareness of the immense responsibility I bear as a legal professional.

2. Turning point for becoming a lawyer

I first aspired to become a legal professional because I wanted to support individuals with intellectual disabilities. My father worked as a special-needs educator, and through him I frequently interacted with people with intellectual disabilities in everyday life. I witnessed firsthand how barriers within institutions and a lack of social understanding prevented them from living ordinary lives.

I pursued a career in law out of a desire to become a lawyer who helps such vulnerable people.

After deciding to become an attorney, I studied for the bar examination while simultaneously conducting research into criminal cases involving persons with disabilities, whether as offenders or victims.

As I continued my research, I realized that sexual minorities likewise lacked sufficient legal protection and faced disadvantages in all aspects of daily life. At their core, the issues faced by persons with disabilities and those faced by LGBT individuals arise from the same fundamental problem. Their dignity as a human being is harmed simply because they do not fit within the framework that the majority of society has defined as normal. My anger toward this reality, together with my determination to change the status quo, has propelled me forward.

3. The ability to thoroughly consider matters--Three years at Chuo Law School

The three years I spent at law school formed the foundation of my life as a legal professional. Together with classmates, senior students, and junior students from diverse backgrounds, I engaged daily in mutual intellectual refinement while asking ourselves, "Whom does the law protect?" Some had prior professional careers, some had overseas experience, and some themselves belonged to groups often described as socially vulnerable. By interpreting the law from these differing perspectives, I came to feel keenly that existing laws and institutions are often inadequate for socially vulnerable individuals.

I still remember the days spent in seminar rooms reading judicial precedents and questioning the correctness of judgments. Each time I confronted case law involving persons with disabilities or sexual minorities, I strongly felt that the law had failed to keep abreast of the realities faced by those concerned. This strengthened my conviction that the situation must be changed. My experiences at Chuo Law School remain the starting point of the work I do today. Even after entering legal practice, I feel that my commitment to thoroughly considering matters was cultivated during those three years.

4. The meaning of mastering law as a tool

This year marks my tenth year as an attorney. Reaching this milestone has reaffirmed my belief that the law is ultimately a tool. Depending on how it is used, the law can either protect people or drive them into despair. To use that tool properly and compassionately requires more than knowledge of statutes and judicial precedents alone. Unless one listens carefully to the pain clients carry and to what they are truly seeking, the power of the law cannot be fully harnessed.

There is one client whom I can never forget. A woman lost her same-sex partner in a traffic accident. Despite them having spent many years of their lives together, her partner's family did not accept their relationship, and my client was told that she could not attend the funeral. She wept as she lamented not being able to say her final goodbye after sharing their lives for so long.

I continued meeting with this client and listening to her story as she struggled with such suffering. While explaining possible legal options, I searched together with her for the best possible course forward. Even now, however, I do not know whether we were ultimately able to arrive at a resolution which truly brought her peace.

Nevertheless, I will never forget when the client said, "Just having someone hear me makes me feel better." In that moment, I realized that, apart from legal victory or defeat, my work as an attorney has great meaning.

5. Anticipating a better future

In recent years, the situation surrounding LGBT issues in Japanese society has gradually begun to change. The number of municipalities establishing partnership systems has increased. More than 90% of the population is now covered by such systems. In lawsuits concerning freedom of marriage for all (commonly known as "same-sex marriage lawsuits"), high court decisions have now been issued in six regions across Japan. Five of those decisions found the current legal framework to be unconstitutional.

In March 2026, the Supreme Court decided to refer the matter to the Grand Bench for review. A historic constitutional ruling by all fifteen justices may be issued as early as fiscal 2026. Japan's legal system is now truly at a historic turning point. I am watching closely and holding my breath in anticipation of what judgment will ultimately be rendered by the Supreme Court. As both an attorney and someone who has closely witnessed the lives of those directly affected, I strongly feel that this ruling has the power to improve many people's lives. Of course, change often comes slowly, and there are many moments of frustration. Even so, I believe that continuing to handle each consultation with sincerity and persevering in raising my voice together with each client will ultimately create a larger movement.

I hope never to lose the ability to thoroughly consider matters that I cultivated at Chuo Law School. I will continue my work as an attorney for the sake of creating a society in which everyone can live their own life.

Saki Hattori／Attorney-at-Law

Saki Hattori was born in Hokkaido in 1989. She graduated from Hokkaido Asahikawa Higashi High School. She graduated early from the Faculty of Law, Chuo University, in March 2011 and completed the Juris Doctor Program (for students without prior legal education) at Chuo Law School in March 2014. She passed the National Bar Examination in September 2014 (68^th class). After working at a law firm in Tokyo, she joined Nishi-ikebukuro Law Office in 2021.
She is actively engaged in issues concerning the rights of LGBT (sexual minority) individuals.

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