DE&I Lunch Session in Collaboration With Airbnb (for N&A members)

Ryutaro Nakayama specializes in General Corporate and M&A work, and advises clients on a broad range of issues and transactions relating to M&A, Japanese corporate, securities, tax, and merger control laws, and regulations specific to various industries. He is a leading lawyer in the field of competition law in Japan, and possesses a unique set of skills and experience, drawn from his extensive experience handling M&A, corporate, and merger control cases and transactions. He has obtained transaction clearances from competition authorities even where the resulting combined market share exceeded 50% in the relevant markets. He has led Nishimura & Asahi’s Africa Practice Team since its formation in 2014. He has established a strong network of connections with Japanese entrepreneurs and businesses that target the African continent, as well as with leading law firms based in Africa. He has been named a leading lawyer in the fields of Corporate/M&A and/or competition law by various publications, including Chambers Global, Chambers Asia-Pacific, and The Nikkei’s annual rankings of “Most Successful Lawyers.” He was appointed the Managing Partner of Nishimura & Asahi in April 2021.

Mikiko has extensive expertise in project finance for various power projects and other infrastructure projects, including PPP/PFI projects. She has advised on award-winning projects, including the Tokyo International (Haneda) Airport expansion project, awarded “Asia Pacific Airports” at IJGlobal 2017, and the Osaka and New Kansai International Airports privatization project, awarded “Asia Pacific Airports” at IJGlobal 2016. Mikiko also has advised on numerous renewable energy projects in Japan since the early 2000s, and has served as an expert member of several government committees established by the Japanese Government’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of the Environment, and Agency for Natural Resources with respect to the electricity market in Japan. Mikiko was commended as an “Innovative Practitioner” at the FT Innovative Lawyers Asia-Pacific Awards 2022 for her sustainability efforts, including in relation to diversity and inclusion, pro bono, and renewable energy.

Yuri is specialized in Restructuring and Insolvency and also Labor Law. Especially, she is well-known in the restructuring market given her outstanding expertise and experience in cross-border restructuring and insolvency cases. She has plenty of experience providing foreign clients with restructuring and business closure of their Japanese subsidiaries. She also supports foreign clients on a wide range of labor issues, including labor disputes, personnel restructuring and general labor law matters on a daily basis. She is actively engaged in diversity and inclusion promotion activities. Utilizing her expertise as a labor-law specialist, as well as her experience as a member of the DE&I Promotion Committee at Nishimura & Asahi and as a director of LLAN (lawyers for LGBT & Allies Network), she has supported clients’ D&I initiatives.

Hudson regularly advises Japanese and non-Japanese clients in large, complex cross-border transactions, including stock acquisitions, asset acquisitions, private equity and venture capital investments, intellectual property agreements, joint ventures and strategic alliances. Clients value his communication skills, both in Japanese and English, and his dedication to producing successful outcomes.

Kayo Kaneko advises domestic and international clients on a wide range of corporate matters, including M&A, governance, and regulatory-related issues. She is regularly involved in matters where corporate transactions or strategic decisions are shaped by regulatory constraints, institutional frameworks, and evolving legal regimes.
She brings a distinctive perspective informed by her experience at Japan’s Ministry of Justice, where she was engaged in legislative work relating to corporate law. This background enables her to approach legal issues not only from the standpoints of interpretation and compliance but also with an understanding of legislative intent and potential future developments in the regulatory environment.
Kayo also has substantial international experience in Europe, having studied and worked in Germany, including at a leading local law firm. Through this experience, she has gained practical insights into European legal frameworks and market practice, which she applies when advising on cross-border matters involving multiple jurisdictions and stakeholders.
In complex situations where multiple legal considerations intersect, she focuses on structuring key issues and framing the legal premises necessary for informed corporate decision-making. Clients value her ability to navigate uncertainty arising from regulatory change and to provide advice that remains grounded in both the institutional context and practical realities.