Hiroto Ando has been engaged in a broad range of matters at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune since he joined the firm in 2002. He focuses on a variety of corporate matters including issuance of securities in both the international and domestic capital markets, mergers and acquisition and corporate restructuring.

Kagayaki Funakoshi has been engaged in a broad range of matters including equity and debt offerings in both domestic and international capital markets, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, capital and business alliances, support to start-ups, Japanese REITs, securities regulations, IT, securities litigations, shareholders' meetings and other general corporate matters.

Minoru Kobayashi’s practice focuses on real estate, capital markets and structured finance transactions, such as real estate non-recourse loans, establishment of real estate funds, including Japanese REITs (real estate investment trusts), issuance and offering of debt and equity securities in international and domestic markets and complex securitizations. His practice has also included a wide range of corporate transactions, including corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, licensing and international trade.

Vassili Moussis is an English qualified lawyer who is registered to practise law in Japan. His practice focuses on EU and international competition law with a particular emphasis on inbound and outbound merger control and international cartel matters. He is also advising on a wide range of issues including energy related issues, distribution arrangements, intellectual property and other commercial matters, which often have an international dimension. Vassili is recognised as a leading individual for antitrust and competition law in Japan by Chambers and Legal 500 Asia-Pacific. Clients have praised him for "his technical knowledge, commercial awareness, effectiveness and client service" as well as for being "a great bridge between Japan and the rest of the world", Chambers, Asia-Pacific 2020 and 2021.

Tomoyuki Oka has been engaged in a broad range of domestic and global capital market transactions, as well as various types of transactions including those relating to REITs. His scope of experience also includes mergers and acquisitions, financial regulatory issues and general corporate issues.

Isao Shindo is a partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, who has been involved principally in the fields of banking, securities transactions, asset management, insurance, trust and structured finance, as well as M&A projects involving financial institutions and insurance companies. Mr. Shindo has long experience representing a large number of Japanese and foreign financial firms with respect to various aspects of their businesses in Japan, including regulatory issues. Mr. Shindo is a pioneer in the area of advising financial institutions regarding global multi-currency loan facilities. Mr. Shindo has also acted as Japan counsel in relation to the merger of major global financial companies.

Hironori Shibata is a partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and is engaged principally in the fields of general corporate matters, international finance and cross-border M&A transactions, with an emphasis on international capital market, public offering and other transactions involving restructuring of financial business.

Mr. Naoyuki Kabata has been involved with an extensive range of financial transactions at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, including securitization, asset management and investment funds, project finance, PFI (private finance initiative) and LBO (leveraged buy-outs). Mr. Kabata has also assisted both domestic and international clients in general corporate matters, such as corporate acquisition and turnaround, licensing transactions, and intellectual property.

Yoshihiro Kai is a partner with rich experience in the areas of crisis management and corporate compliance and has conducted many internal investigations for companies in white-collar crimes. Mr. Kai worked as a public prosecutor for 17 years and conducted criminal investigations and trials in various criminal cases including white-collar crimes. He was seconded to government ministries such as the Criminal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, the Financial Services Agency and the Cabinet Legislative Bureau, and had experience in enacting legislation and taking administrative actions.

Yusuke Nakano is a partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, with broad experience in the areas of antitrust, business dispute resolution, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. In the antitrust area, he has particularly broad experience in cartel investigation and merger control, including international ones. Further, Mr. Nakano has assisted many Japanese companies and individuals involved in antitrust cases in foreign jurisdictions, in close cooperation with co-counsel in those jurisdictions. He has also represented various companies in administrative, civil and criminal litigation, mass and complex litigation, innovative mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and licensing arrangements. In addition to his professional experience at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Mr. Nakano worked for the New York law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, as a foreign intern (2001 to 2002).

Yoshiharu Usuki is a partner at Anderson Mōri & Tomotsune with broad experience in the area of antitrust/competition law. In the competition area, he is particularly experienced in Japan Fair Trade Commission cartel investigations and other foreign competition authority cartel investigations, bid rigging and other serious alleged violations. Also he is broadly experienced in anti-trust and competition matters relating to dominance regulations, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, distribution agreements and license agreements. In addition to his professional experience at Anderson Mōri & Tomotsune, he worked for the London law firm of Fieldfisher LLP, as a foreign lawyer (2014 to 2015).

Koichi Miyamoto is a partner who has specialized expertise in providing advice on financial regulatory issues including the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, Banking Act and Investment Trust Act. His professional experience also includes providing legal services and advice in relation to structuring, formation and marketing of domestic and foreign investment funds, including private equity funds, venture capital funds, mezzanine funds, real estate funds, infrastructure funds, as well as asset management, FinTech and various types of financial transactions. In addition to his professional experience at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, he has also worked for the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission of Japan (from May 2008 to May 2010), where he was in charge of the inspection of financial instruments business operators.

Taro Tsunoda is a partner handling a wide range of corporate and financial matters with a focus on cross-border transactions involving Japanese entities. In addition, he regularly advises foreign clients on various Japanese　law matters including, corporate, securities regulations, antitrust, employment, bankruptcy and reorganization. He also has experience in international arbitration before the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC.

My practice focuses on assisting domestic and international clients with personal data and privacy, AI, metaverse and other advanced areas, internet and IT-related matters, copyright, trademarks and other intellectual property rights, and cross-border transactions. For domestic clients, I have also assisted many clients with overseas compliance in the EU and elsewhere. I also deal with a number of more specialised areas, such as cyber security, where ransomware has recently become an issue, economic security, where security clearances are a hot topic, and technical areas such as Radio Act and satellite-related matters. Outside of work, I was a member of a working group that drafted the recently published AI Guidelines for Business, and I serve on a number of expert committees for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Cabinet Office and other government departments. Also I have been commissioned to carry out various surveys for the Personal Information Protection Commission. In Internet-related matters, I have been involved in various service launches and overseas expansion support for SNS, cloud, metaverse and online games, domain disputes and security, as well as compliance with the Personal Information Protection Act, the Funds Settlement Act, the Provider Liability Limitation Act, the Telecommunications Business Act and various other business laws and regulations, and in IT and systems, I have been involved in system development, security and open source software development. The firm assists clients in Japan and abroad with a focus on system development, security and software disputes, including open source.

Yasufumi Shiroyama is a partner who heads all aspects of the firm's intellectual property group practice, including: ・Drafting and arguing complaints, motions, answers and other pleadings for patent, trademark, copyright and know-how infringement litigation in district and appellate courts in Japan, on behalf of both Japanese and foreign companies; ・Drafting and arguing complaints, motions, answers and other pleadings for litigation arising in relation to technology transfer agreements, compensation for employee's invention, and allegedly defective products, etc. in district and appellate courts in Japan, on behalf of both Japanese and foreign companies; ・Drafting and negotiating various technology transfer agreements on behalf of both Japanese and foreign companies; ・Managing written discovery in cooperation with U.S. counsel for a Japanese client in patent license related litigation in U.S. federal court; ・Managing appellate litigation matters seeking nullification of decisions of the Japanese Patent Office; ・Drafting and arguing complaints, motions, answers and other pleadings in invalidation trial and opposition procedures before the Japanese Patent Office; and ・Advising on regulatory matters for pharmaceutical products, medical devices, chemical products, and personal data etc.

Since joining the firm in 2001, Tomoki Debari has been involved principally in the fields of insurance, banking, securities and asset management, as well as M&A projects involving insurance companies and other financial institutions. He has extensive experience representing Japanese and foreign insurance companies in various matters in Japan, including: (a) formation of branches, subsidiaries and insurance joint venture companies in Japan and applications for insurance business licenses; (b) acquisition of shares in insurance companies and/or portfolio transfers; (c) demutualization and other structural changes, including conversion of Japanese branches into subsidiaries licensed to conduct insurance business; (d) strategic alliances and mergers involving insurance companies; (e) outbound investment and/or formation of joint ventures in the U.S., Europe and Asia (including Vietnam, Turkey, Thailand and Singapore) by Japanese insurers; (f) development of new life and non-life product lines; (g) asset management (including real estate, funds and various derivative transactions); (h) reinsurance transactions and ancillary hedging transactions; (i) ongoing advice on all major issues relating to the Insurance Business Act and Insurance Contract Act; (j) litigation and alternative dispute resolution (including disputes relating to reinsurance); and (k) FSA inspections. As an additional area of specialization, Mr. Debari has also developed extensive expertise in environmental law matters. He assisted Japan's Environmental Ministry in its development of the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act of Japan, adopted in 2002, and since then has advised clients on a wide variety of environmental issues, including: (i) development of environment impairment liability policies and environment remediation expense policies for several insurance companies; (ii) numerous real estate projects in which analysis and management of environmental risks played a key role, including sales, transfers, securitizations and M&A transactions; (iii) global studies by clients in the areas of soil, groundwater, and air contamination (including one such study for a major U.S. airline); (iv) development by clients of emergency reaction and contingency plans against soil and groundwater contamination; and (v) dispute resolution (including both litigation and alternative mechanisms) regarding environmental issues between joint venture partners, as well as with local governments and the public.

Mr. Goto has an exceptional background as a Japanese lawyer with an academic background in both science and engineering, and professional experience working in the intellectual property department of a major electronics company. Mr. Goto’s practice covers a wide range of complex intellectual property and technology/data related matters, including disputes concerning patents, licensing, trade secrets, trademark and technology related antitrust claims, as well as various data privacy/protection issues. He also has broad experience in various regulatory matters as well as product liability issues involving chemical substances, pharmaceutical products and other industrial products. Mr. Goto is recommended for: ・Intellectual Property (Japan) - Chambers Global (2019-2024) ・TMT (Technology, Media, Telecom) - The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2021-2024) ・Intellectual Property (Japan) - Asialaw Profiles (2021-2024) Since 2017, Mr. Goto has been serving as the vice chair of Standing Committee on Trade Secret of AIPPI. In addition to being admitted to the bar in Japan (2008) and the state of New York (2014), he passed the Japanese Patent Attorney Examination in 2003.

Takeshi Suzuki is working mainly in the fields of antitrust and competition law, M&A transactions and other corporate legal affairs. Prior to joining Anderson Mōri & Tomotsune, he practiced cross-border M&A transaction matters as well as Japan and EU competition law in Tokyo and Brussels for approximately four years at a leading UK firm and then worked for the Merger Investigation Division of the Japan Fair Trade Commission as a chief case handler of merger filings for approximately two years. With this background, his practice focuses on Japan and international competition law with a particular emphasis on merger control. He also provides legal advice in a number of matters related to domestic cartel/bid rigging, distribution, intellectual property, Subcontract Act.

Koji Fujita is a partner specializes in tax and tax related matters on cross-border transactions.

Eiichiro Nakatani is a partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, and advises and assists various domestic and cross border contracts and transactions, with an emphasis on international taxation matters. Ranked as the leading global tax lawyer by the Tax Directors Handbook for many years. Ranked in Band 1 of the Leading Individuals, Tax, Japan of "Chambers Asia" for many years.

Hitoshi Ishihara provides a variety of legal services to various international and foreign-affiliated clients establishing and doing business in Japan, with an exceptional focus on cross-border business negotiation, dispute resolution, M&A, international trade, and corporate/commercial matters (including advice concerning corporate governance, compliance, JV management, and internal investigations). His distinctive English skill, backed by over seven years experience in the United States, enables him to effectively bridge the linguistic and cultural gap faced by his clients. Mr. Ishihara also provides pertinent and timely advice that matches the needs of clients expanding overseas, utilizing his rich experience in negotiating and coordinating with clients and counterparts not only from the United States and EU countries, but also in various other jurisdictions including those counties in Asia, Middle East, South America, and Eastern Europe. In the intellectual property field, Mr. Ishihara has extensive experience in IP licensing and transactions and also provides advice on regulatory issues especially in the entertainment field, with an exceptional focus in the field of sports, being only one of the two recommended Japanese lawyers in the field of Sports & Gaming by Who’s Who Legal, being quoted “Hitoshi Ishihara maintains a first-rate reputation in the market thanks to his excellent cross-border business negotiation work in the sports industry.” Mr. Ishihara also has extensive focus and knowledge concerning the Japanese casino and gaming laws including the Japanese Integrated Resort (IR) Act, providing advice concerning the Japanese gaming regulations to various operators, suppliers, affiliate marketers, platformers, publishers, foreign law firms, state agencies, and various other stake holders. Mr. Ishihara is the only Japanese attorney-at-law who is admitted as a member of the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL), which is a non-profit association of gaming attorneys, regulators, educators, executives and consultants from around the world who are dedicated to education and the exchange of professional information and advice. Mr. Ishihara is quoted by Chambers as "Hitoshi is the preeminent gaming lawyer in Japan, and well recognised for his expertise in the international community of gaming lawyers" and has been named "Gaming Lawyer of the Year in Japan" by various publications, such as Acquisition International Magazine, Corporate Intl Magazine, and Global Law Experts Magazine.

Kenichi Masuda has represented many local and foreign clients in a broad spectrum of businesses and industries. He has extensive experience in advising foreign clients and is familiar with cross-border issues. In particular, he regularly advises clients on mergers and acquisitions of listed and unlisted businesses (including, but not limited to, share acquisitions and divestments and business acquisitions and divestments for foreign clients where the target is a Japanese company or business), joint ventures and other cross-border investments, and corporate restructurings. His scope of experience also includes assisting and representing venture companies in various aspects including start-up, equity finance and initial public offerings, as well as establishing venture capital or other private equity funds, advising venture or other private equity funds on investments in Japanese businesses including high-tech businesses as well as distressed companies. He regularly provides legal services on employment and labor union relations (including representation of client companies at the court and other dispute resolution forum), real property transactions, intellectual property issues, general corporate matters (including corporate governance and compliance issues for listed companies) and commercial matters. Mr. Masuda served as a Committee Member for two committees organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for the purpose of stimulating venture business and investments into the venture business in Japan: the Committee for Improving the Business Environment for Private Equity Finance in Japan in 2000, which developed proposals for revisions to the Japanese corporate law, and the Committee for Examining Desirable Disclosure Systems of the Venture Business in Japan in 2001, which developed proposals for revisions to the Japanese Securities Exchange Law. Mr. Masuda also taught M&A as an adjunct lecturer at the Graduate School for Law and Politics of The University of Tokyo (2011-2013, 2014-2016).

Mr. Nakamachi is a fully bilingual and bicultural attorney and possesses over 30 years of solid experience as a practicing lawyer in the United States and Japan. He has the rare distinction among Japanese lawyers of having served as a partner at top-tier law firms in both of the two countries. He has special expertise in intellectual property/technology transactions for technology-driven clients, ranging from young start-ups to fully-matured global enterprises. Aki represents clients operating in a wide range of industries, including software, Internet, e-commerce, computer gaming, computer equipment, telecommunications, automobile, semiconductor, pharmaceuticals, biotech and medical devices. With over 10 years of work experience at first-tier national U.S. law firms across the United States, Aki has acquired exceptionally deep and practical knowledge of not only the laws but also the "business culture" of both the United States and Japan, and utilizes his expertise to assist clients in achieving successful outcomes in cross-border commercial transactions and dispute resolution matters.

Yoshikazu Iwase joined Anderson Mori & Tomotsune after working with an intellectual property firm in Tokyo for three years. His litigation experience involves a number of patent infringement trials and revocation suits against the trial decisions of the Japanese Patent Office concerning patentability/validity of patents over various technologies. He has also been involved with a wide range of trademark/trade dress and copyright infringement suits, licensing and IP assets transfer transactions, and dispute resolution. Mr. Iwase has provided a wide range of advice regarding U.S. patent infringement issues in Japan. His experience also includes drafting and negotiating licensing, patent and various intellectual property transfer agreements, transactions and due diligence of intellectual property in the course of M&A deals.

Kenichi Sadaka is a litigation partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, engaged mainly in international & domestic litigation, commercial arbitration and other dispute resolution procedures. Mr. Sadaka has represented many Japanese and foreign companies in Japan in matters concerning intellectual property issues (patents, copyrights, moral rights, publicity rights, medical import licenses, trademark, trade secrets, and unfair competition, etc.), real estate transactions, construction, labor (collective bargaining with labor unions, visa related issues, sexual harassment, dismissals, labor accidents, etc.), antimonopoly issues, disputes among management, disputes related to financial products, product liability, debt collections, inheritance, mortgage enforcement, defamation, professional malpractice, termination of distributorship agreements, international trade (LC and BL related matters), insurance, administrative remedies, and other matters. Mr. Sadaka also has experience in several overseas litigations, and has provided assistance in discovery procedures in Japan and in relation to companies in Japan. In addition to these civil dispute activities, Mr. Sadaka has conducted internal investigations for several companies in relation to intra-company crimes and, based upon such scrutiny, exposed criminal accusations for embezzlement, fraud, and similar actions. Mr. Sadaka also provides day-to-day legal service for general corporate legal affairs.

Dr. Ono is a registered and qualified patent attorney (benrishi). He has been involved with various patent matters and is well versed in international and domestic patent filing and prosecution. He is specialized in Biochemistry, Pharmaceutical, Agrochemistry and Food Engineering.

Hideki Thurgood Kanoh has been practicing in the area of labor and employment and currently devotes his practice exclusively to this area from the viewpoint of employers and companies (instead of employees and workers), such as follows: I. Collective Labor-Matters (Collective Bargaining Sessions with Labor Unions, Concerted Activities (Strike, Picketing, and so on) of Labor Unions) II. Individual Employment Matters (Dismissal and Voluntary Resignation, Disciplinary Actions, Internal Transfer, External Secondment, Confusion between Workers Dispatch and Service-Providing Contract, Job Search, Employment of Aged People and Disabled People, Establishment of Wage Payment Systems and Retirement Benefit Systems, Implementation of Pay-per-Performance Systems, Sexual Harassment, Bullying, Mental Health, Occupational Safety and Health, Preparation of and Amendment to Work Rules of Employment, Preparation of Employment Contracts, Fixed-Term Employment Contracts, Executive Service Agreements, Prevention of Infringement of Corporate Data by Employees, Companies’ Protection and Transfer of Employees’ Data, Companies’ Rights Subsisting in Employees’ Invention or Works of Authorship, Whistle-blowing, Employment of Non-Japanese Workers and their Residing Permit, etc.) III. Labor Insurance, Social Insurance and Pension Plans (Workers Accident Compensation Insurance, Unemployment Insurance, Health Insurance, Welfare Pension Insurance, Defined Contribution Pension Plan, Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Welfare Pension Fund, Tax-Qualified Retirement Pension, etc.) IV. Labor and Employment Related Dispute Resolution and Litigation (Labor-Related and Employment-Related Litigation, Mediation on Individual Employment Dispute, Employment Tribunal Dispute Resolution, Remedy for Unfair Labor Practices, etc.) Thurgood acts on behalf of both Japanese and non-Japanese multinational companies, advising them on all aspects of labor and employment. Although he advises companies on ways to avert formal labor and employment disputes, he is also an experienced labor and employment litigator, having successfully defended many cases. He has written and lectured extensively on labor and employment matters in addition to matters unrelated to labor and employment law.

Hideyuki Sakai is an of counsel at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and one of Japan's leading authorities in insolvency and financial restructuring. Prior to joining Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, he was managing partner of Bingham Sakai Mimura Aizawa, the joint enterprise established between Sakai & Mimura, which he founded in 1995, and a leading US law firm. Mr. Sakai focuses on bankruptcy, workouts, civil rehabilitation and other proceedings involving insolvency procedures. He frequently represents financial institutions and large creditor groups in complex debt restructurings and international insolvency matters. He has also served as court-appointed trustee in high-profile cases and as mediator in out-of-court ADR proceedings. Additionally, he has extensive experience in cross-border M&A, complex commercial litigation and crisis management.

Hiroki Wakabayashi is a partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, primarily representing both Japanese and non-Japanese financial institutions, audit corporations and business corporations in transaction disputes, professional responsibility disputes, labor relation disputes and other types of disputes, based on his experience as a lawyer as well as a judge. In addition to these corporate related disputes, he also practices in the areas of inheritance and domestic relations.

Tsuyoshi Nagahama is Of Counsel at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune with approximately 40 years of experience as a lawyer helping global and other multinational companies with their business operations in Japan and helping Japanese companies doing business overseas. He has been involved principally in the fields of financial and corporate law. Prior to commencing his career as a lawyer, Mr. Nagahama worked for the Japanese Government's Ministry of Transportation from 1961-1962.

Osamu Hirakawa is an of counsel at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, whose practice includes general corporate matters with an emphasis on M&A and financing transactions. He is experienced in assisting multinational companies, both overseas and Japanese. He has assisted in a number of global offerings, including multiple U.K. prioritization offerings and complex TOB (tender offer bid) transactions such as Vodafone's Japan Telecom acquisition and Ripplewood's acquisition of the former Long Term Credit Bank of Japan (LTCB) (presently Shinsei Bank).

Hirohito Akagami is engaged principally in the fields of financial, corporate and commercial law, with an emphasis on M&A and securities work. Typically, these transactions involve Akagami representing the purchasers for a number of tender offers, which he has been doing for more than 20 years. He also advises clients in a number of domestic and cross-border syndicated loans, securities and other financial transactions, as well as on corporate governance-related matters and regulatory issues.

Kunihiko Morishita works primarily in the fields of domestic and international banking, securities and asset management. He has been named as a leading lawyer by several publications including the International Financial Law Review and Chambers’ “The World’s Leading Lawyers”, and is a member of the Financial Law Board, an influential advisory body regarding financial law matters sponsored by the Bank of Japan. Mr. Morishita has extensive experience in representing financial institutions, including investment management companies, before the Financial Services Agency and other Japanese regulatory authorities. He regularly advises a number of multinational financial institutions, located within and outside of Japan, in relation to regulatory issues in the fields of securities, trusts and asset management.

Fujiaki Mimura has a major insolvency and restructuring practice as court-appointed trustee in numerous cases throughout Japan. His practice focuses on all aspects of insolvency, corporate reorganization, civil rehabilitation, bankruptcy, voluntary liquidation and other insolvency and acquisitions. His industry focus includes corporations throughout Japan as well as golf resorts, healthcare and other real estate firms. Fujiaki also advises clients on shareholder rights, compliance and procedures for Japanese annual shareholder meetings, served as a shareholder-meeting examiner and statutory auditor. He has broad experience as a seasoned commercial litigator. In 1991, he established the Law Offices of Fujiaki Mimura which later merged to become Sakai & Mimura.

Hideto Ishida is an of counsel at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, and counsels a variety of domestic and foreign multinational companies in Japanese anti-trust and competition matters, including those relating to cartels, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, distribution agreements, license agreements and other cooperation agreements. He also represents many companies involved in investigations before the Japan Fair Trade Commission and other foreign competition authorities for price cartels, bid rigging and similar serious alleged violations such as vitamin, graphite electrode, GIS, marine hose, air fare, LCD, Auto parts, Maritime, Libor/Tibor FX international and certain Bond international cartels. He served for seven years as the first attorney appointed as a special investigator with the Japanese Fair Trade Commission and thus has a keen sense of the actual and practical application of antitrust and distribution regulations to companies doing business in Japan.

Kazutoshi Kakuyama is an of counsel at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, and has a general practice on behalf of domestic and overseas clients, specializing in labor and employment law and general corporate matters.

Atsushi Yamada is a partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune focusing on competition/antitrust law. His practice covers all aspects of competition/antitrust law including assisting clients in investigations by competition authorities (cartels/dominance/unfair trade practices), representation in courts/tribunals challenging decisions made by competition authorities, follow-on civil litigation, and merger filings. He also provides advice relating to structuring new businesses and compliance programs. His clients include both multinational and Japanese companies in various industries, such as information technology, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, construction, transportation, financial institutions and trading houses. Prior to joining Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, he has worked at the Tokyo office of a US law firm and a local Japanese firm after serving as a judge at the Tokyo District Court as well as other courts. With such background, he has extensive experience in litigation and general corporate matters. He is also well experienced in providing labor and employment law advice to both Japanese and non-Japanese companies.

Shigeyoshi Ezaki is a partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and has a general corporate practice, which includes advising and assisting Japanese and foreign clients with respect to antimonopoly law, corporate law, trade regulations and intellectual property law. In addition to his professional experience at the firm, Mr. Ezaki worked for the New York firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges as a foreign attorney (1998 to 1999).

Etsuko Hara is a partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune with broad experience in the area of antitrust, including international cartel cases, multi-jurisdictional merger filings as well as distribution arrangements, franchising, and strategic alliances. She handles various inbound and outbound cross border transactions, especially in the form of direct investment, joint ventures, and distribution, license and franchise agreements.

Mr. Aoi Inoue is a partner and the Head of the International Arbitration practice at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune. He specializes in international arbitration and litigation. He represents clients in a wide range of business disputes, including joint venture, distributorship, licensing, franchising, construction projects, complex financial products, labor & employment and product liability. He has acted as counsel in a number of international arbitrations under various rules including the ICC, AAA-ICDR, SIAC, HKIAC, JCAA, VIAC and UNCITRAL. He also serves as arbitrator and has been appointed to the panel of arbitrators of the JCAA, KCAB INTERNATIONAL and Japan Sports Arbitration Agency (JSAA). He has been recognized as a leading arbitration lawyer in Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration, Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500: Asia Pacific, Best Lawyers and Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific. Mr. Inoue also acts for overseas clients seeking to expand into Japan through international franchising. His support includes structuring, negotiating and drafting relevant documents such as international direct franchise agreements, international master franchise agreements and joint venture agreements. He also assists Japanese clients seeking to expand into foreign countries through international franchising. Mr. Inoue has been nominated for inclusion in the list of recognized franchise lawyers of the Who's Who Legal: Franchise.

Takashi Akahane is a partner, whose practice includes Project Finance, Private Finance Initiatives and various financial transactions. Mr. Akahane also advises various Japanese ministries, municipalities, and multinationals regarding PPP (public private partnership) and social and economic infrastructure projects.

Hiroki Kodate is a partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and engaged principally in the fields of M&A and general corporate matters, and regularly advises both Japanese and non-Japanese clients in this regard. In addition to his professional experience at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Mr. Kodate worked for the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, where he was in charge of the legislative project to modernize Japanese corporate laws (2002-2005). He also worked for Slaughter and May in London as a foreign secondee (2000-2001).

Hiroshige Nakagawa is a partner handling a wide range of corporate matters with a focus on cross-border transactions, competition issues, and litigation/arbitration cases, involving Japanese entities. He also handles China-related matters, especially in M&A transaction and dispute matters. In addition, he regularly advises foreign and domestic clients on international trade matters, including anti-dumping investigation.