Merger control in Japan: overview

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.

Kazumaro’s antitrust practice spans various industries, including automotive, energy, telecommunication, medical/healthcare and finance. Kazumaro regularly represents clients in high-profile matters, including merger and acquisitions that require approval in multiple jurisdictions, and global and domestic cartel investigations.

Tatsuya handles all aspects of competition law-related matters, such as merger control, bid rigging and cartel investigations, anti-trust litigation, and unfair trade practice regulations. He is also involved in advocacy efforts towards the development of competition policy. Tatsuya regularly advises on a number of digital and platform-related competition law cases, and has extensive experience in competition law matters within the infrastructure and energy sectors.

He is well-versed in a wide range of regulatory matters regarding legal issues in the new technology industry, including digital platforms, cloud computing, advertising, AI, data centers, social media, telecommunication services, radio waves, cybersecurity, FinTech, and consumer protection for domestic and international clients. He also offers guidance on analysis and strategy development pertaining to legal and public policy issues in the emerging areas of digital policy and regulations, as well as public policy matters (e.g., sustainability) in light of domestic and international political and policy trends.

He has published numerous works concerning digital policy and regulation, and his work in the field of competition law was featured in the Academic Retrospective of the notable legal journal Horitsujiho in 2023 and 2024.