Nishimura & Asahi Wins Korea Practice - Asian Law Firm of the Year at ALB Korea Law Awards 2024

Kei Ito is one of the leading partners of the Firm’s investment fund/asset management practice group. Mr. Ito has significant experience in various investment funds (ranging from traditional mutual funds to ETFs and to alternative investments such as private equity funds, and to climate funds and funds with a sustainable investment objective), providing asset management firms and other clients with regulatory advice, securities transactions, banking, derivatives, FinTech, structured finance transactions and a wide variety of other finance areas. Mr. Ito is very well versed in international finance transactions, catering to both domestic and international clients on various cross-border matters. Mr. Ito is also responsible for the Firm’s China practice.

Since joining the firm, Mitsuhiro Harada has been actively involved in Mergers & Acquisitions and has represented Japanese or non-Japanese buyers or sellers in numerous cross-border transactions in varied industries, including stock and asset acquisitions, private equity and venture capital investments, joint ventures and strategic alliances. He has recently become deeply engaged in international transactions, particularly in assisting Japanese companies with expanding into East and South East Asian markets. In addition, he has provided a broad range of legal services in the field of general corporate matters, including corporate governance issues and civil or commercial disputes.

Tatsuya Nakayama is a partner in our M&A and corporate practice and was previously seconded to a top-tier U.S. international law firm. He has represented Japanese and non-Japanese buyers and sellers in numerous domestic and cross-border M&A and other commercial transactions, including financial institutions M&A, strategic alliances, private equity, equity finance, startups and venture capital investments. He also has considerable expertise in strategy planning at all stages from early stage to PMI and advises on a broad range of legal issues in the field of general corporate matters, including corporate governance, and banking and insurance. Leveraging such significant expertise and experience, he provides attentive expert advice in an effective, practical and timely manner. He also has experience serving as an outside officer for private companies and as a lecturer at a prestigious university and law school in Japan.

Tomoki’s practice covers various corporate crisis management matters such as product defects, breach of industrial regulations including GMP, misleading representations of products, divulging confidential information, window-dressing, misrepresentation of financial statements, insider trading, antitrust (bid rigging, price cartels, and abuse of dominant position), bribery, and misconduct by executives and employees. He provides tailored legal services (investigation, creating a relapse prevention plan, defending against criminal and administrative investigations, public relations, handling the related civil, criminal and administrative litigation, etc.) in a timely and flexible manner. He also has advised many companies in building effective whistle blowing systems and anti-bribery compliance programs, and has assisted with due diligence procedures from a compliance perspective.
After a secondment to a South Korean law firm from 2016 to 2017, he supports South Korean clients on their expansion and business development strategies in Japan.

Sakka’s practice covers private and public M&A transactions, cross-border deals, and day-to-day commercial business. She also has wide-ranging experience representing companies in defending against hostile takeovers. She was seconded to one of the biggest telecommunication company in Japan, working as a Manager in the Corporate Strategy Planning Division. During the secondment, she was put in charge of M&A involving many domestic and cross-border transactions from business and legal standpoints. She acquired qualification as an attorney in New York and Texas during her secondment to an American firm. Leveraging experience in the M&A division of the telecommunication company and an American firm, she focuses on providing strategic legal support in various sectors, including M&A (Inbound/Outbound) and business alliances. Sakka provides tailored legal services in a timely and flexible manner, and plays a leading role in various complex transactions.

Based on hands-on experience at leading law firms in Korea and a deep understanding of both Japanese and Korean cultures and practices, Won Yoon advises clients on cross-border matters between Japan and Korea, including M&A, commercial transactions, and litigation. The main focus of his practice includes advising Korean companies on inbound investments and doing business in Japan, while he has a wealth of experience in advising Japanese companies on legal issues in their Korea-related business.