ADIPEC 2024

Hiroyasu Konno specializes in the energy and natural resources sector, mainly in the upstream and middle-stream sectors, such as projects and transactions regarding LNG, biomass fuels, coal, rare metals, copper ore, petroleum, and other minerals in the world, as well as the down-stream sectors such as transactions regarding electricity and gas in Japan. He has a breadth of knowledge about industrial practices and policy trends, through his experience working as a secondee, or temporary worker, at Nippon Oil (currently ENEOS), JOGMEC (Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (currently Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security))，and JERA, in addition to an energy and natural resources team in a foreign law firm, as well as experience from being a committee member of relevant governmental panels. He always endeavors to provide clients with legal services with additional value, including managerial perspectives. He handles all kinds of legal issues related to the energy and natural resources sector, by closely working together with N&A’s experts in each sector. He also actively works on legal issues with regard to “carbon”, such as CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage), transactions of carbon credits, and others.

Shimpei Ishido has been active in the field of international trade matters and international investment disputes for many years. He advises and represents governments and major corporations with regard to investment arbitration under ICSID, ICC, and UNCITRAL arbitration rules. He currently serves as a member of the Japanese delegation to UNCITRAL Working Group III (Investor–State Dispute Settlement Reform). He also advises the government and corporations regarding anti-dumping and countervailing measures and WTO dispute settlements proceedings concerning such trade remedy measures.

In addition, he usually provides his clients with general advice on a variety of international law issues, including investment protection, economic sanctions, government procurement, trade in services, e-commerce, sovereign and diplomatic immunities, law of the sea, and space law. His client engagement in these fields of international law includes:
i) capacity-building training on international investment law and trade in services to government officials of various states in the Asia-Pacific Region and Central Asia;
ii) advice on government procurement procedures covered by GPA and FTA/EPAs;
iii) advice on sovereign or diplomatic immunities issues concerning contracts between a foreign government/international organisation and a private entity;
iv) advice on international law issues arising from private entities' exploration of space resources on the Moon and other celestial bodies.

Before joining Nishimura & Asahi, he led, as legal counsel to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the negotiation of Japan’s international investment agreements, including the investment and trade in services chapters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Japan–EU EPA, the ASEAN–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Japan–Australia EPA, the Japan-Mongolia EPA, and the Japan–Mozambique BIT.

He received an LLM in international law from University College London.