Hiizu Hiraide v Yasuhide Niizato

• Jurisdiction: Japón
• Court: Supreme Court (Japan)
• Date: 13 July 1966

Japan, Supreme Court, Grand Bench.

(K. Yokota C.J., Irie, Okuno, Gokijo, M. Yokota, Kusaka, Osabe, Kido, Ishida, Kashiwabara, Tanaka, Matsuda, Iwata and Shimoura JJ.)

Hiizu Hiraide

and

Yasuhide Niizato

JURISDICTION

Jurisdiction In general Territorial jurisdiction Over territory in general Territorial limits of jurisdiction Part of State territory Sovereignty over Exercise by foreign State Whether territory foreign territory Whether bringing of narcotics from the territory amounts to importation The law of Japan

Summary: The facts:Before 1952 the Okinawa islands were part of the territory of Japan. Under the Treaty of Peace of 1952 Japan gave up her sovereign powers over the islands to the United States. The Japanese Narcotics Control Law prohibited the import of certain narcotics. The question was whether bringing of narcotics from Okinawa to Japan constituted import into Japan.

Held:The bringing of narcotics from Okinawa to Japan constituted import into Japan.

The following is the text of the judgment of the Court:

JUDGMENT

• 1. The Court quashes the original judgment and the first judgment.

• 2. The Court returns this case to the Yokohama District Court.

REASONS:

With regard to the reasons of jokoku appeal by the superintending procurator of Tokyo High Court Public Procurator's Office, Takehiro Matsumoto

Thinking about the argument, the point of violation of judicial precedent is not legally adequate for a jokoku appeal, since the quoted judicial precedent refers to the case of the violation of the Order Concerning Opium and Anaesthetic Control in China, the Foreign Office Order No. 8 in 1928, in which transportation of heroin hydrochloride was made from Talien, a leased territory to our country, to Chingtao belonging to China. And the rest of the argument is also not legally adequate for a jokoku appeal, since they are only the claims of violation of the laws and ordinances.

The main point of the reasons by the Court

However, taking into consideration the jokoku appeal, the Court considers, in its official power, that, though Okinawa is a territory of our country, the United States of America has the right to exercise administrative, legislative and judicial powers over Okinawa according to the Peace Treaty with Japan, Treaty No. 5 of 1952.

As the result, the United States of America is actually exercising her administrative power over Okinawa, and Japan is not actually exercising her supreme power over it. And so it is proper that transporting narcotics...