Notice of our new partners and a foreign law partner

Mr. Yoshimoto has been engaging in general corporate legal affairs in Indonesia and other emerging countries for nearly 10 years. He was seconded to the legal and compliance departments of both the headquarters and U.S. regional headquarters of a major Japanese general trading company, as well as to one of the largest law firms in Indonesia. During his secondment at the Indonesian law firm, he was involved in a wide variety of matters, including M&A, finance, litigation, criminal matters, and insolvency proceedings. As a key member of the Indonesian Practice Team, he was able to develop a strong network of Indonesian lawyers, which he has been able to utilize, to handle cases efficiently and flexibly with due consideration to local customs and practices. He has also been involved in many M&A and crisis management cases in other ASEAN countries, such as the Philippines and Cambodia, as well as other emerging countries, such as Bangladesh and Brazil, during which he was able to draw upon his experience from his secondment to the trading company to the clients’ benefit.

Sadayuki has a wealth of experience in supporting international clients in projects, transactions, and businesses in the energy sector. Sadayuki advises his clients on the best solutions for achieving their business goals based on his deep understanding of the relevant laws and regulations and practices in the full energy supply chain. He also has expertise in carbon-neutral projects and businesses, such as renewable power projects and hydrogen projects, as well as pioneering businesses involved in recent developments in the electricity market and the regulations thereon. Sadayuki serves as a member of an industrial safety rules committee and a hydrogen safety strategy committee, both of which were established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, and also is a member of an electricity capacity market committee, which is part of the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators, Japan (OCCTO).

Experience in not only large M&A transactions but also mid-small cap M&A transactions, achieving efficiency and considering the internal/business matters within the client, from time being seconded to the legal department in a Japanese investment bank and full-time work in the client office. Experience assisting clients in a wide variety of industries; manufactures, retail, financial institutions, start-ups, etc. Successfully involved in several famous defense cases against hostile takeovers and activism campaigns. Provides legal advice in some crisis management situations and harassment investigations, accounting scandals and other corporate scandals. Such broad experience enables provision of strategic advice on various general corporate matters.

He represents clients engaged in a broad range of banking and finance matters, including real estate financing facilities, leveraged financing transactions, restructurings, project financing facilities and structured finance transactions. He also has expertise in representing foreign and domestic investors, funds, and corporate entities in various types of matters, including joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, and investment transactions. In recent years, he has also represented clients engaged in many solar PV projects and other renewable energy projects.

Jun is a partner in our corporate crisis management practice, who handles domestic and overseas corporate crisis management matters, including conducting internal investigations, responding to relevant authorities and stock exchanges, the media, handling labor disputes, representing companies in relevant legal proceedings in relation to various corporate misconduct matters, such as quality falsification issues by manufacturing companies, financial fraud issues, etc. Jun has experience as a member of an investigation committee on corporate misconduct. Jun was previously seconded to a global trading company, and he has extensive experience in handling cross-border corporate crisis management matters and establishing global compliance programs. Jun is also a partner in our energy and natural resources practice, where he mainly advises utility companies, including providing advice on domestic and overseas investments, contracts, regulations, and disputes in relation to energy and natural resources.

After earning his LL.M. at Vanderbilt University Law School in the U.S., he worked as a secondee at a NY office of a leading Japanese bank and the Tokyo office of an international investment bank. Upon returning to N&A, he developed an extensive track record in a broad range of finance matters, including financial regulations, capital markets (especially REIT), ship finance, M&A in the financial sector, compliance, and communication with financial authorities. He is one of the main members of our FinTech practice team and has extensive experience with respect to FinTech-related matters, and has advised a wide variety of clients, ranging from traditional financial institutions to start-ups. He also has particular expertise in regard to the payment space. In addition, he advises clients on financial regulations in M&A transactions involving financial institutions, and has experience in a broad range of cross-border matters, including inbound and outbound transactions.

Kentaro has advised on a number of cross-border finance transactions, including asset financing in respect of aircraft and ships, for various parties, including financial institutions, lessors, and airline and other operators. He has extensive experience launching new schemes in the asset financing industry, such as insurance-backed leasing deals and capital market structures incorporating Japanese operating leases. He also has considerable expertise in compliance-related matters involving banking and securities law, mainly for financial institutions. Leveraging his significant cross-border expertise, he regularly supports international clients on their cross-border activities. He is also a regular speaker at seminars on aircraft and ship financing.

Yuko has continuously advised a multitude of global and prominent companies on data privacy issues, including data breaches and security incidents, data privacy structures in the design of their business, cross-border data transfers, global data compliance, data governance and medical/genome data. During her many years of professional practice as a corporate lawyer, she has also conducted transactional and advisory work in cross-border and domestic M&As, joint ventures and business alliances, and general corporate matters for listed companies.
Her recent major books include, “Corporate Governance Frontline” (Shojihomu, 2025), “Amendments to the Act on the Protection of Personal Information in 2020 and Practical Approaches” (Shojihomu, 2022) and “Corpus Juris Series - Personal Information Protection Legislation (Global)” (Shojihomu, 2020).
She has served as a member of Committee for Promoting Open-data in Public Transportation Sectors, of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, as well as a member of Tokyo Data Platform Case Study Project Review Board, Bureau of Digital Services, Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

He has over 15 years’ experiences in a variety of M&A and finance transactions, particularly in distressed and turnaround situations, including sales of entire businesses, carve-outs, formation of JVs, debt/equity financing, restructuring of loans/bonds, providing financial support, sponsor investments, negotiations with customers/suppliers, and handling of disputes, which enables him to provide comprehensive supports for our clients. He also handles business succession and litigation cases. In terms of industries, he has significant insights in the IT and manufacturing businesses.

Hiroko Jimbo is advising on various M&A transactions such as acquisitions of private/listed companies, joint ventures, capital/business alliances and technology alliances, and general corporate matters such as support of foreign companies’ entry into Japanese market, with strengths in industries and transactions where technology and intellectual property are important, such as the business integration in the electronics and other manufacturing industries, telecommunication industries, license / franchise business.

She has strong expertise in Japanese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regulations and handled numerous FDI filings. Based on the experience of various deals and the experience to work with government, she has unique insight to coordinate complex and difficult transactions that involve FDI elements. She engaged in discussion as a member of council and committees at the Japanese government level on the amendment to Japan’s Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act in 2020 and the implementation thereof. She has also served as an advisor for Council for Promotion of Foreign Direct Investment in Japan, Cabinet Office and actively supports the foreign investment promotion.

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.

Kentaro has extensive experience representing companies in distress, creditors, buyers and other stakeholders across a variety of industries in in- and out-of-court reorganizations. With his significant knowledge and experience, he has served as an ordinary councilor of the Japanese Association of Turnaround Professionals （“JATP”） since 2019, which is currently the only Specified Certified Dispute Resolution Business Operator in Japan. Kentaro's experience also includes advising private companies in connection with acquisitions, mergers, and corporate litigations.

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Moroi Ryoji has been proactively focused on renewable energy related sectors in Japan. He has deep knowledge of the energy-related regulations in Japan and has advised a multitude of Japanese and foreign clients on a wide range of projects (such as development of solar power plants, onshore wind energy plants, offshore wind energy plants, and biomass power plants) and project finance transactions to satisfy their various needs. He has a wealth of experience advising on real estate and structured finance transactions, excels at handling transactions requiring cross-sectional knowledge, and possesses international experience, having worked at Marubeni Europower Limited in London for two years.

Tomoyuki Numata specializes in crisis management and competition law compliance, with a wealth of experience in cases that require understanding of IT and technology. 

As a partner in the crisis management department, he has extensive experience in dealing with cases such as window dressing, bribery of overseas civil servants, fraudulent acquisition of confidential information, violation of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, quality fraud in the manufacturing industry, and embezzlement by employees. In these cases, he was responsible for fact-finding and investigating the cause. He has also taken a number of strategic actions, such as dealing with government and investigative authorities (including experience of commitment agreement with the JFTC and judicial transactions), communicating with the mass media, and formulating recurrence prevention measures. 

In the field of antitrust law / competition law, he is involved in cartel / bid negotiation cases including criminal cases / administrative cases, unilateral acts cases such as private monopoly, unfair trading methods, etc. He also handles a lot of authorities’ responses. In addition, he has a wealth of experience in dealing with domestic and overseas business combination investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission and overseas competition authorities. 

He also provides a lot of advice on creating a legal compliance system such as anti-bribery system, competition law management system, whistleblowing system, internal audit and monitoring. In particular, he is familiar with system development utilizing advanced technologies such as machine learning, data analytics, and text mining. 

Yamato’s practice area covers various M&A transactions, including cross-border M&A deals for stock consideration; shareholder activism; corporate governance, including officers’ remuneration and management of subsidiaries; disclosure; guidance for shareholders meetings, including virtual shareholder meetings; securities litigation; preparation of legal opinions; and development of new structures for share-buybacks using trusts. Yamato also worked at the Ministry of Justice of Japan for two years and mainly engaged in the reform of the Companies Act. Yamato is also known for his expertise in the latest trends in revision of corporate legislation, including the Companies Act and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, by maximizing his experience working at the Ministry of Justice of Japan. Yamato has continued to work diligently on writing articles and delivering lectures with respect to corporate legislation and has shared his expertise with our potential clients in a clear, straightforward manner.