Updated on 2024/03/28

Affiliation
Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Social Sciences
Job title
Assistant Professor(without tenure)

Research Experience

  • 2022.04
    -
    Now

    Waseda University   Faculty of Social Sciences

Education Background

  • 2019.09
    -
    2022.09

    Waseda University   Graduate School of Social Sciences  

  • 2015
    -
    2018

    Columbia Law School  

Professional Memberships

  •  
     
     

    日本刑法学会

  •  
     
     

    ジェンダー法学会

  •  
     
     

    日本被害者学会

  •  
     
     

    American Bar Association

Research Areas

  • Criminal law
 

Papers

  • The Implications of Using Digital Technologies in the Management of COVID-19: Comparative Study of Japan and South Korea.

    Sou Hee Yang

    Journal of medical Internet research   25   e45705  2023.06  [International journal]

     View Summary

    BACKGROUND: Technology can assist in providing effective infectious disease management, but it can also become a source of social injustice and inequality. To control the rapidly increasing SARS-CoV-2 infections and promote effective vaccine administration, both South Korea and Japan have been using several technology-based systems and mobile apps. However, their different approaches to technology use have yielded contrasting social implications. OBJECTIVE: Through comparative studies of the use of digital technologies for pandemic management and its social implications in Japan and South Korea, this study aimed to discuss whether the active and optimal use of technology for pandemic management can occur without subverting or compromising important social values, such as privacy and equality. METHODS: This study compared the social implications of Japan's and South Korea's contrasting approaches to technology implementation for COVID-19 pandemic management in early 2022. RESULTS: Digital technologies have been actively and comprehensively used in South Korea, enabling effective COVID-19 management, but have raised serious concerns about privacy and social equality. In Japan, technologies have been more carefully implemented, thereby not causing similar social concerns, but their effectiveness in supporting COVID-19 regulations has been criticized. CONCLUSIONS: Potential social implications such as equality concerns, the balance between public interest and individual rights, and legal implications must be carefully assessed in conjunction with effective and optimal infectious disease control to achieve sustainable use of digital health technologies for infectious disease management in the future.

    DOI PubMed

    Scopus

  • 日本の性犯罪処罰規定のあり方に関する比較法的研究 -アメリカ州法の性犯罪規定を通して-

    Sou Hee Yang

       2022

  • Establishment of the Certified Research Ethics Professionals: An Ethical Review Expert -Translated in English from Japanese Version.

    Yusuke Ebana, Sou Hee Yang, Megumu Yokono, Masayuki Yoshida

    JMA journal   4 ( 4 ) 405 - 408  2021.10  [Domestic journal]

     View Summary

    Medical research is indispensable to develop new treatments or diagnostic methods. An ethics review board reviews the validity of such medical research. However, with the recent advances in medicine, a meaningful review of medical research often requires advanced knowledge. There is thus a growing necessity for a professional who can support ethical review. Therefore, a new system called the Certified Research Ethics Committee Professional (CReP), an Ethical Review Expert, has been established.

    DOI PubMed

  • Criminal Defendants Have a Due Process Right to an Expert on Eyewitness Reliability: Why the Court Was Wrong in Perry v. New Hampshire

    Margaret A. Hagen, Sou Hee Yang

    Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal   26 ( 1 ) 47 - 136  2016

Books and Other Publications

Misc

 

Internal Special Research Projects

  • Role of Criminal Law in Combating Technology-facilitated Gender-Based Violence

    2023  

     View Summary

    This research involved a comparative analysis of penal laws addressing TGBV (Technology-facilitated Gender-Based Violence) across different jurisdictions. The primary objective was to elucidate the role and limitations of criminal law in combatting TGBV within a society.The research specifically examined the penal laws of South Korea, the United States, and Singapore. Mainly, the penal laws of the states in the United States, the laws on TGBV enacted or revised as a part of the “Nth Room Prevention Law” in South Korea, and the Protection from Harassment Act of Singapore, were compared in terms of their scope, benefits, and criticisms. Through this examination, this research identified several unique challenges associated with penalizing TGBV.One major challenge lies in integrating laws addressing TGBV with the existing legal framework of the respective jurisdictions. For example, in many states in the United States, TGBV-related offenses are considered violations of privacy rather than sex crimes. However, in South Korea, laws on TGBV were included as part of the existing sex crime legislation. The research, through comparison of these laws, highlighted the implications of categorizing TGBV under sex crime laws, including the need to review the protected interest for sex crimes and reconcile differences between existing sex crimes, which require physical contact, and TGBV-related offenses without physical contact.Another challenge involves defining the scope of criminal punishment for TGBV. While Singapore and South Korea penalize a broad range of acts constituting TGBV, including various forms of gender-based online harassment, the state penal laws of the United States predominantly focus on revenge porn and image-based abuse. The research revealed the importance of considering values such as free speech rights and effectiveness when expanding criminal sanctions for TGBV prevention. Additionally, the penalty for TGBV offenses needs to be balanced and weighed against relevant existing legislation on sex crime or privacy.Finally, the research emphasizes the significant role criminal law plays in addressing TGBV in society while also acknowledging its limitations in supporting victims. Therefore, in addition to providing proper criminal sanctions, it is crucial to offer civil remedies, especially for the removal of victim's sexual images and videos disseminated online.

  • Comparative Analysis of Laws on Artificial Intelligence Facilitated Crimes

    2022  

     View Summary

     This research compared penal laws related to deepfake technology across various jurisdictions to identify optimal legal solutions for managing AI-facilitated crimes.  Some jurisdictions, such as South Korea and Virginia in the United States, penalize creating and distributing sexual deepfakes. However, the appropriateness of the penalties, given the grave harm to the victims, is still debated. Other jurisdictions, like Texas, penalize using deepfake technology to spread false information about public elections or politics. This has gained particular significance because deepfake videos, realistically portraying events that never occurred, can easily allow people to believe and spread false information. Analyzing penal laws related to deepfake technology reveals the challenges of developing legal frameworks that can effectively address the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-facilitated crimes.  Based on the review of the laws, three legislative recommendations are made, including (1) a periodic review of the development of socially undesirable use of AI, (2) an examination of legal frameworks that govern conventional offenses, such as sexual offenses and fraud, to ensure that they can flexibly address new types of AI-facilitated crimes, and (3) a reassessment of the appropriateness of penalties for existing laws on AI crimes.