Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: Sports DX Promotion Project FY2023
Nishimura & Asahi was commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (“METI”) to produce a report titled "Sports DX Promotion Project FY2023 (Research Project Related to Enhancing the Appeal of Sports Content)."
The Nishimura & Asahi team advising METI was led by partners Hironori Inagaki and Yusuke Suzuki, and counsel Kaori Hirose, supported by Masayuki Obata, Kei Hattori, Shuhei Umezawa, Naohisa Tsutsumi, Yuya Muramatsu, Harunobu Uchida, Daijiro Tanaka, Saeko Asano, Rintaro Harada, Yusuke Yamazaki and Scott Alper.
People
Yusuke Suzuki has extensive experience in handling corporate crisis management matters across a variety of industries and legal disciplines.
The wide array of corporate scandals he has handled involve issues such as bribery, bid-rigging/cartels, violations of the Subcontracting Law, quality fraud, trade secret infringement/information leaks, accounting irregularities, insider trading, harassment, and industrial accidents; when dealing with such complex matters, he draws upon his experience as a news reporter to strategically collaborate with not only legal and compliance departments, but also public relations departments.
In the area of crisis communication, his comprehensive support covers timely disclosures, preparation of releases, preparation of anticipatory questions and answers, advising on media responses (individual interviews, press conferences, background briefings, etc.), and advising on countermeasures against slanderous remarks found on the Internet and SNS. On a frequent basis, he provides a wide range of advice, including on the development of crisis management public relations manuals and misconduct publicity standards, mock press conference training, and legal checks of public-relations-related tasks.
When carrying out fact-finding and cause analysis of corporate scandals, Yusuke Suzuki applies his journalistic perspective to go beyond superficial cause analysis and delve into the “real causes,” such as the industry structure and organizational climate. He then takes the lead in the planning and implementation of various measures, such as internal and external messages from top management, formulation of corporate philosophies, workshops for different levels of management, and employee awareness surveys, in order to ensure the effective implementation of recurrence prevention measures, which often involve making changes to the organizational climate and the awareness of executives and employees.
In addition to his proven track record of success in handling legal cases, Yusuke Suzuki also regularly delivers seminars and publishes writings on crisis management with respect to both contingency and peacetime situations. He is widely known for his original and practical seminars and his hands-on, in-house training programs on crisis communication and organizational climate reform.
Kaori Hirose primarily specializes in corporate crisis management and compliance-related matters and has particular expertise on global compliance cases.
In that area, she regularly counsels clients on a wide variety of legal issues, including bribery to foreign officials (FCPA), cartels, and other compliance matters involving antitrust laws, as well as product quality/inspection fraud and environmental regulation violations. She provides comprehensive advice throughout the entirety of a corporate crisis, starting from occurrence of the crisis, through internal investigation, to the establishment of preventive measures. She collaborates with local counsel in other countries to support clients in regard to both internal investigations and those by governmental authorities, and also advises global companies on the development of compliance systems and internal rules, etc. under normal corporate operating conditions.
Furthermore, by leveraging the experience she obtained through her secondment to law firms in Latin America, she provides support and legal advice on compliance and general corporate matters to clients that conduct business in Latin American countries.
He understands and solves his client’s essential needs and challenges by leveraging his extensive domestic and international connections in the sports and entertainment field as well as his experience gained during secondment to the business side of a domestic sports management company.
He has assisted numerous companies in the area of Sports Digital Transformation (data business, sports betting, fantasy sports, NFT, sports tokens) and is experienced in cases involving a wide range of legal issues at the intersection of sports and technology. He is also the
Representative Director of the Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion, an industry organization that aims to industrialize sports using digital transformation, etc., and is well versed in the latest trends and issues in the industry both domestically and internationally.
He was also selected as a finalist for Young Lawyer of the Year (Law Firm) in the ALB Japan Law Awards 2024, sponsored by Asian Legal Business (ALB) and Thomson Reuters.