Japanese-English Model Work Rules - Third Edition

As a partner in our M&A/Corporate practice group, Yukihiro’s practice focuses mainly on corporate governance, including institutional design, the operation of boards of directors, statutory auditors, and audit committees, internal control systems, and subsidiary management. He regularly assists clients in a broad range of industries and sectors with designing equity compensation schemes (including employee stock ownership plans and trust structures), disclosures, issues involving the Corporate Governance Code, shareholders’ meetings (including responses to activist engagement and shareholder proposals), and insider trading regulations. In addition, he provides strategic advice on critical management decisions relating to M&A transactions and business reorganizations, such as preparing legal opinions on directors’ duties of care.
He has extensive experience handling labor issues, such as drafting employment rules and internal policies, advising on dismissals and harassment incidents, and other HR matters, as well as representing clients in disputes with employees and labor unions.

Takeo advises various types of clients in the field of labor and employment law.

The origins of his career lie in his experience working for Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tokai) prior to becoming a lawyer. He gained experience in a variety of roles, ranging from operational positions (as a bullet train operator, conductor, and station attendant on the Tokaido Shinkansen) to legal and corporate planning work within the management division.
Having experienced the reality of labor and employment issues, as well as the role of law in corporate management, he has consistently pursued an approach that goes beyond mere legal interpretation to provide “practical solutions” that consider the interests of all stakeholders.
He continuously handles diverse cases, including employment legal consultations, dispute resolution such as employment litigation and labor tribunal proceedings, employment compliance matters like harassment investigations and employee misconduct cases, and advising on HR systems for work-style reform and human capital utilization. Additionally, he has consistently engaged in complex cases involving labor and employment matters during M&A transactions, collective bargaining with labor unions, and dispute resolution at labor relations commissions.
He also has deep knowledge of international labor standards, based on his experience working as a consultant at the International Labor Organization (ILO) Office for Japan. His extensive engagement in the ILO’s “Business and Human Rights” project has made him an expert among the few Japanese attorneys who possess proficiency in both domestic labor laws and international labor standards.