Kojiro Cristóbal Tawara

Associate, Member of Tokyo Bar Association

Kojiro Cristóbal Tawara became an attorney because he believed that the way to return the profits invested in him to society was for immigrants who came to Japan with various circumstances to obtain special permission to stay in Japan. With his background of being born in Panama and raised in Brazil, he has been consulting with many clients who have roots in foreign countries. His clients come not only from Latin American countries such as Mexico and Brazil, but also from China, Russia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Ghana, Sudan, and many other countries. With a lifework of creating a society where people with foreign roots can feel close to the judiciary, he handles various types of requests, including general civil cases, domestic affairs, criminal cases, and status of residence cases. As a public interest activity, he has been entrusted by the family of a Sri Lankan woman who died at the Nagoya Immigration Office in 2021 to represent the plaintiffs in a lawsuit for state compensation, and is working to uncover the truth.

Education and Professional Background

1985 : Born in the Republic of Panama
1991 : Attended Japanese School in Rio de Janeiro
2008 : Graduated from International Christian University, College of Liberal Arts
2016 : Graduated from Chuo University Law School

Practice Areas

Immigration cases: status of residence, application for permanent residence permit, application for provisional release permit, special permission for residence, etc.
Religious legal affairs: labor management, succession and liquidation, use of real estate
  Domestic affairs cases: divorce, inheritance, wills, trusts, etc.
  Debt settlement: voluntary liquidation, bankruptcy, individual rehabilitation, etc.
  Labor cases: overtime claims, dismissal, etc.
General civil cases: traffic accidents, claims for damages, land and house lease disputes, neighbor disputes, etc.

Membership and Official Positions

Tokyo Bar Association
Foreign Lawyers Network
Tokyo Bar Association Committee on the Rights of Foreigners
Liaison Association of Lawyers for Foreign Technical Interns
Waseda University YMCA

Lectures

Lectures, etc.
Consultation on Medical Care for Life for Migrants and Refugees in the Corona Disaster” (November 2021, St. Ignatius Church)
Consultation for foreign residents affected by the invasion of Ukraine” (February 2022, CWS JAPAN)
Immigration Law Study Session” (March 2022, Free Ushiku)
Wishma’s death at Nagoya Immigration Office” (May 2022, ICU)
Family Residency and Employment: The Case of Employment after Entering Higher Education” (July 2022, Nerima Technical High School Human Rights Training)

Message

I like to study languages. People ask me what is the secret to improving.
I think it is important to try to speak in a way that anyone who hears you will understand, rather than to speak in a way that is easy to understand.
If you keep this in mind, you will be able to speak well, no matter what language you are speaking.
On the other hand, if you do not keep this in mind, you will not be able to go from “I think I am speaking in an easy-to-understand manner” to “I am speaking well from someone else’s point of view.”
In the same way in legal consultations, I always try to explain things in a way that anyone can understand.

My hobby is samba.

Languages

Japanese, English, Spanish, Portuguese