Instructors

Dr. Eva Schwittek is a mediator (certified in Germany, MiKK Cross-Border Family Mediator), notary and solicitor with an international focus.
She has lived in Japan, the USA, Pakistan and Afghanistan. She has been practising as a mediator since 2016, often with an intercultural focus, and has been training other mediators since 2019, including at Osaka University and the Heidelberg Institute for Mediation.
She wrote her doctoral thesis on a comparative law topic and worked at the Japan Department of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law. She is a member of international networks such as JIMC (Japan International Mediation Centre) and AIJA (Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats). www.maypartner.de 

Prof. Noriko Odagiri is a clinical child psychologist, family therapist, and mediator. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is a certified clinical psychologist, a certificated public psychologist, and a listed ADR mediator under the Hague Child Abduction Convention in Japan since 2014. She is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Tokyo International University, where she teaches counseling and family studies. 
She participated in the Cross-Border Family Mediation Training in Berlin, she is a member of both the MiKK International Mediators Network and the Cross Border Family Mediators network. Dr. Odagiri is also trained in child custody evaluations, parenting coordination, and co-parenting programs such as Families in Transition (U.S.) and Nurturing Parenting Skills for Families in Supervised Visitation.
Drawing on her international experience—including a visiting professorship at Willamette University (U.S.) and participation in the U.S. Department of State’s IVLP program—she provides counseling for children and families affected by separation or divorce, runs a visitation center, and delivers co-parenting programs in Japan. Her current focus is on the benefits and challenges of including the child’s voice in international family mediation.

Naoshi Takasugi is a Professor of Law at Doshisha University and an expert in the resolution of international civil, commercial, and family disputes. His academic work focuses on international arbitration, mediation, and private international law, particularly the interaction between domestic procedural systems and international dispute resolution frameworks.
In addition to his academic career, Professor Takasugi has more than thirty years of experience as a conciliation commissioner (mediator) at family courts in Japan, 
He received professional mediation training from the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and serves as a Specialist Mediator there. Professor Takasugi is also a Director of the Japan Association of Arbitrators (JAA) and has been a key figure in promoting mediation and arbitration in Japan. Since 2016, he has served as Deputy Chair of the Founding Committee of the Japan International Mediation Center in Kyoto (JIMC-Kyoto) and played a leading role in its establishment. From its founding in 2018 until 2023, he served as Deputy Director of JIMC-Kyoto, devoting his efforts to ensuring that the institution became firmly established as Japan’s first international mediation center.
Furthermore, as a member of the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice of Japan, Professor Takasugi contributed to the drafting and enactment of Japan’s legislation implementing the Singapore Convention on Mediation. Through his combined academic expertise, professional experience, and institutional leadership, Professor Takasugi continues to advance the development of mediation and arbitration both within Japan and in the global community.