Asia Business Law Journal uncovers the most celebrated lawyers in Japan’s legal industry, featuring the country’s top 100 lawyers plus 30 Legal Icons. Brian Yap and Miran Lim report.
Japan, a global economic powerhouse and technology hub, is home to some of the largest regional law firms in Asia, and has long held its place as a top destination among global law firms for their expansion into Asia.
Foreign law firms are allowed to set up branch offices in Japan, as well as hire Japan-qualified lawyers, known as bengoshi. In the past year, several overseas law firms have joined a sizable community of foreign law firms in Japan with the launch of branch offices in Tokyo. They include UK-based Bird & Bird, US-based Fisher Phillips and Rimon, as well as China-based Yingke Law Firm.
As of 1 May, there were 47,072 Japan-qualified attorneys, with 9,665 being female, according to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. Additionally, there were 531 Japan-registered foreign law attorneys.
In the past year, Japan’s Ministry of Justice has moved to streamline the registration process for overseas-qualified lawyers to work in Japan by introducing changes covering document submission and re-application.
Taking effect from 31 July last year, the changes made it possible for foreign and Japanese law firms to reuse certain employer-related documents to be submitted on behalf of their overseas-qualified lawyers when registering, provided that the materials are updated.
Previously, law firms were required to source and submit these documents each time an overseas-qualified lawyer registered.
Also, those who previously practised in Japan as registered foreign lawyers and are re-applying will no longer need to obtain letters from former employers for work experience verification.
On the legislative and regulatory front, Japan has also recently taken steps to tackle issues and plug loopholes concerning areas from cybersecurity and artificial intelligence to cryptocurrency. For example, the upper house of the National Diet passed a cyberdefence bill on 16 May, enabling the government to prevent serious cyberattacks with the authority to collect, analyse and target communications between Japan and foreign countries, among other things.
The Japanese government has also moved to strengthen oversight of AI-related activities with the adoption of a bill in February allowing the authorities to investigate businesses for any inappropriate utilisation of AI resulting in the violation of personal rights and to publish their names.
Against this backdrop of further liberalisation of Japan’s legal market and regulatory oversight of various burgeoning areas of market activity, we present our annual A-List of the top 100 lawyers and 30 Legal Icons in Japan. The A-List is based on extensive research and nominations from in-house counsel based in Japan and elsewhere, as well as from Japan-focused partners at international law firms.
Nearly all the A-List lawyers and Legal Icons are strategically located in Tokyo, the epicentre of the country’s legal and commercial activities.
Comments submitted to Asia Business Law Journal by clients suggest that many have a strong preference for lawyers who think outside the box and possess a diverse skillset, while approaching their legal mandates with a high degree of care and integrity.
Novel approach
Clients have shown a preference for lawyers who think outside the box, particularly when advising on complex legal issues, while exercising a high degree of caution and honesty.
Nobuhiro Matsuyama, director and CFO of Astroscale Holdings in Tokyo, regards Mori Hamada & Matsumoto’s Tokyo-based partner, Toshimitsu Nemoto, as an innovative, client-focused lawyer who “does not shy away from breaking with precedents to deliver creative solutions to complex problems”.
Matsuyama describes Nemoto’s strength as instrumental in the successful execution of his company’s initial public offering, which required novel approaches to disclosure, allowing investors to understand the risks and returns of a unique deep-tech business in a new industry.
“I believe his [Toshimitsu Nemoto] willingness to listen and put himself in the client’s shoes has earned him trust from many issuers, as shown in his high market share in the Japanese capital markets area.”
Matsuyama is not the only client who has benefited from Nemoto’s out-of-the-box, sincere approach to his work.
Taiju Watanabe, managing director and CFO of GENDA in Tokyo, praises Nemoto for being a highly trusted adviser with extensive experience and accurate advice, whether it is an initial public offering, a follow-on equity offering or a merger and acquisition.
“[Toshimitsu Nemoto] does not easily become conservative in sorting out legal matters, while taking an attitude of moving things forward positively,” says Watanabe.
Watanabe adds that Nemoto is highly trustworthy in all aspects of integrity and is indispensable to his company, which undertakes a lot of corporate action.
Saviours
Comments received by Asia Business Law Journal also show that the power of a lawyer’s advice can not only be instrumental in the successful execution of an IPO, but also a lifeline for a client in a complex legal situation.
Yong Whan Choi, a partner at Yulchon in Seoul, recalls his collaboration with Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu’s Tokyo-based partner, Yushi Hegawa, who specialises in tax law and cross-border tax matters, on a sophisticated indirect transfer deal involving a multinational entertainment company.
Choi describes Hegawa’s legal service as very concise and easy to understand, saying that his tax opinion may look simple, but the argumentation and its underlying logic are very thorough and persuasive.
“His tax analysis and insight about the tax treatment of the contemplated indirect transfer deal (involving the multinational entertainment company) saved us from the potential tax assessment from Japan’s National Tax Agency.”
Second to none
At the end of the day, lawyers who stand out among the crowd all have one thing in common – a distinctive and extensive skillset that is unmatched.
Luu Tien Ngoc, a partner at Vision & Associates in Hanoi, points to DLA Piper Japan’s country managing partner, Masahiko Ishida’s, “distinctive” combination of experience and knowledge in the legal and business fields through his “extensive” experience in trade and investment.
Ishida, also DLA Piper Japan’s head of corporate, focuses on corporate law mandates and a wide range of M&A transactions including life science, international trade and antitrust matters.
“He is a very commercially aware and focused legal counsel, who is fantastic in all of our engagements,” says Ngoc.
Yuzo Wada, a partner at Uchida & Samejima Law Firm in Tokyo, is another Japanese lawyer who has been singled out for his extensive legal knowledge.
Hiroshi Goto, CTO of the GCE Institute, in the city of Tsukuba within the Ibaraki prefecture, says that Wada, with his extensive knowledge and experience of intellectual property rights, can provide accurate, objective guidance and advice on contract review and issues arising between companies, particularly those related to intellectual property. For Yoshinobu Mizutani, general manager of Terumo Corporation in Tokyo, the abundant experience and knowledge of US M&A deals of Sullivan & Cromwell’s Tokyo office managing partner, Keiji Hatano, has led him to rely heavily on Hatano’s expertise.
Hatano, whose practice focuses on capital markets, corporate and M&A as well as joint ventures, is Sullivan & Cromwell’s only financial institutions group partner in Asia with extensive experience in providing US regulatory advice, according to the US firm. “His response is always fast, practical and to the point,” says Mizutani.
Amazon’s Tokyo-based senior corporate counsel, Shun Hirota, on the other hand, has found one of the best legal advisers in town. In the nomination of Yusuke Sahashi, an M&A partner and the representative of the Nagoya office at Tokyo-headquartered Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, he calls Sahashi an experienced adviser on various forms of M&A.
But to Hirota, the Anderson Mori M&A partner – who specialises in a broad range of M&A and corporate governance matters and has been the Nagoya office representative since 2022 – Sahashi is much more than just an experienced M&A legal adviser. “He is one of the most trusted corporate lawyers in the Nagoya area,” says Hirota.
Compiling the A-List
The A-List is based on extensive research conducted by Asia Business Law Journal. To identify the top lawyers in Japan, we turned to thousands of in-house counsel in Japan and around the world – as well as partners at international law firms – and asked them to tell us which lawyers should make the cut.
A-List lawyers were defined on the nomination form as “lawyers who are currently the star performers of Japan’s legal profession; the lawyers who are personally undertaking the country’s top legal work, crafting the most cutting-edge legal solutions to complex problems, and setting the highest standards in terms of quality, innovation and the ability to handle complex matters”.
Our Legal Icons were de-fined as “lawyers who are the luminaries of Japan’s legal profession; the titans who command the respect of clients and juniors alike; the mentors who lead Japan’s most admired law firms and/or legal teams, and who are the country’s most prolific rainmakers”.
All Japanese private practice lawyers and foreign lawyers based in the country were automatically eligible for inclusion in the nomination process. There were no fees or any other requirements for entry.