Asahi Kasei Corporation: Business Integration of Asahi Kasei Advance Corporation and Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd.

Kozo’s anti-trust/competition practice covers every area of the practice, i.e., violation cases such as cartel and unilateral conduct, merger regulations, and compliance to prevent violations of Japanese and foreign competition laws. Kozo continues to be recognized by international law journals as one of the top practitioners in Japan in the area of competition law. He has handled large scale international cartel cases and has contributed to the realization of prominent merger regulations. In the area of international trade law, Kozo is widely recognized as a pioneer of trade law practice in Japan and has advised both the private sector and governmental agencies. He has been involved in most of the trade remedy investigations, such as those for the imposition of anti-dumping duties and subsidy countervailing duties as counsel to Japanese and foreign clients, and in some overseas trade remedy investigations to defend Japanese clients. In addition, Kozo’s practice covers international disputes, corporate crisis management, and regulatory investigations.

Since she joined Nishimura & Asahi in 2004, she has been involved in various types of corporate matters, including M&A, compliance and corporate group internal controls. She handles in day-to-day matters as well as strategic and special situations, and can provide business advice. With respect to corporate governance matters, she provides practical advice on the full spectrum of corporate governance matters including administration of shareholder meetings, company organization structures, disclosure, administration of the board of directors, board evaluations, executive compensation, and company indemnification. She also has extensive experience in the field of consumer law matters, such as how to respond to consumer-law related regulations, consumer organizations, and investigations by authorities. She has expertise and provides advice on advertising, marketing activities, and e-commerce.

Shigeki is a Corporate/M&A lawyer who advises on matters end to end—from complex transactions involving listed companies (business integrations, going‑private deals, capital and business alliances, and JV formations) to takeover defense, shareholder‑activism engagement, and day‑to‑day corporate counsel on matters such as governance, compliance, and shareholder‑meeting management.
Building on a long‑term secondment at a steel manufacturer, he brings an operating‑company perspective and deep industry insight—grounding legal analysis in real business and organizational dynamics and translating it into clear, usable courses of action. He also has hands‑on experience advising on antitrust merger review (merger control), with a growing focus on FDI screening and trade law. Whether a mission‑critical mandate or an everyday question, he works side by side with clients as an empathetic orchestrator to enable steady growth and disciplined business expansion across listed companies and core industrial sectors.