Justice Mamoru Miura retires; NPA promotions and Reconstruction Agency secondments published

The Official Gazette, dated November 2, 2026, published a summary of key personnel appointments within the judiciary and administration. In addition to the mandatory retirement of Supreme Court Justice Mamoru Miura as of October 22, the personnel changes section for the same date included promotions to Counselor and Chief Hearing Officer at the National Personnel Authority, the Ministry of Justice’s approval of a prosecutor’s resignation, and the secondment of a Director-General from the Reconstruction Agency to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. All were published as formal personnel actions based on the appointing authority of each respective agency, with effective dates ranging from October 27 to November 1.

The personnel changes section of the Official Gazette serves as the venue where the state publicizes appointments, dismissals, retirements, and secondments based on various legal grounds, such as the National Public Service Act, the Court Act, and the Public Prosecutors Office Act; the contents of the appointing authority’s orders are published exactly as issued. In this instance, entries for four agencies—the Supreme Court, the National Personnel Authority, the Ministry of Justice, and the Reconstruction Agency—appeared on the same day’s pages, creating a layout where key personnel changes across different sectors—the judiciary, personnel administration, prosecution, and reconstruction administration—could be confirmed simultaneously.

Supreme Court Justice Mamoru Miura Retired Due to Age Limit as of October 22

Under the Supreme Court section, it was noted under “Mandatory Retirement” that Justice Mamoru Miura retired as of October 22. The publication date of the Official Gazette, November 2, serves as a notification following the retirement date, formally establishing the fact of retirement as an official record.

While Supreme Court judges are generally considered lifelong officials, a mandatory retirement age is established, and this retirement has been processed based on those age-limit regulations. Since the retirement of a justice directly affects the Supreme Court’s trial structure, the focus now shifts to when and in what form the appointment notice for a successor will be issued.

National Personnel Authority Announces Promotions to Counselor of the Personnel Bureau and Chief Hearing Officer of the Fair Review Bureau

Under the National Personnel Authority section, two promotions were publicized effective November 1.

• Masaki Matsuura, Planning Officer of the Personnel Bureau, is promoted to Counselor of the Personnel Bureau (November 1).
• Yosuke Uchida, Deputy Hearing Officer (attached to the Chief Hearing Officer) of the Fair Review Bureau, is promoted to Chief Hearing Officer of the Fair Review Bureau (November 1).

Both are promotion orders that explicitly state the current titles, placing new leaders in two of the National Personnel Authority’s core functions: the human resource development/planning division and the fair review division, which handles appeals by public servants. Both appointments were effective November 1, with the Official Gazette publication occurring the following day.

Resignation of Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office Prosecutor and Secondment of Reconstruction Agency Director-General to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

Under the Ministry of Justice and Reconstruction Agency sections, the approval of a prosecutor’s resignation and a change in a Director-General post were publicized.

• Approval of the resignation of Ayaka Mori, Prosecutor of the Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office (October 28)
• Transfer of Keichi Yumoto, Economic and Industrial Technical Official attached to the Minister’s Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, to the position of Reconstruction Official (Director-General) (October 27)
• Secondment of Yasuhito Nii, Reconstruction Official (Director-General), to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (October 27)

The two cases regarding the Reconstruction Agency are dated October 27, representing a rotation where a technical official from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry takes over the role of Director-General, and the predecessor returns to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. This placement can be interpreted as a personnel move to rotate talent familiar with both reconstruction administration and industrial policy.

The approval of the prosecutor’s resignation is publicized as a disposition approving the notification of resignation based on the Public Prosecutors Office Act, affecting organizational quotas and the handover of assigned cases. The fact that a prosecutor from a large-scale office such as the Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office is leaving at the end of October is not unrelated to the reorganization of the system, including its branches.

A characteristic of this public notice is that top-level appointments for the Supreme Court and mid-level executive appointments for various administrative departments appeared on the same day. The retirement of a Supreme Court Justice affects the composition of the judiciary’s final instance; promotions by the National Personnel Authority affect the operational policies of civil service personnel; and the secondments between the Reconstruction Agency and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry affect the execution system of reconstruction policy. While the personnel section of the Official Gazette is published alongside daily conferrals of ranks and decorations and various notifications, it serves as a primary source for readers tracking successor placements, as the movement of personnel responsible for organizational decision-making can be confirmed on a single page.

Sources

• Official Gazette, November 2, Reiwa 8, Personnel Changes (Supreme Court section, “Retirement upon reaching mandatory retirement age”)
• Official Gazette, November 2, Reiwa 8, Personnel Changes (National Personnel Authority section, promotions as of November 1)
• Official Gazette, November 2, Reiwa 8, Personnel Changes (Ministry of Justice section, approval of resignation, October 28)
• Official Gazette, November 2, Reiwa 8, Personnel Changes (Reconstruction Agency section, transfer/secondment, October 27)