Itsurō Terada

Itsurō Terada (寺田 逸郎, Terada Itsurō, born January 9, 1948) is a Japanese lawyer and the current 18th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan.

Terada was born in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. He was born into a family of great judicial significance. His father, Terada Jirō, was the Supreme Court's 10th Chief Justice. In 1972, he graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law.

By 1980, Terada had held various positions as Assistant Judge in several District Courts, the Tokyo District Court in 1974, the Sapporo District Court in 1977 and the Osaka District Court in 1980. Terada was also the Ambassador of Japan to the Netherlands in 1981. He then moved to the Ministry of Justice in 1988, where he served as the Director-General of the Judicial System Department and the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Before becoming Chief Justice, Terada was the President of the Hiroshima High Court and was also one of the Justices of the Supreme Court.

At age 66, Terada replaced Hironobu Takesaki as Chief Justice on April 1, 2014, when Takesaki reached the date of his retirement.

Terada as Chief Justice, was formally appointed by the Emperor after being nominated by the Cabinet, which in practice, is known to be under the recommendation of the former Chief Justice. It was the first time since the ratification of the Japanese Constitution in 1947, that a father and son have both held the top judiciary position.

He is set to retire in 2018 when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.

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