Nishimura & Asahi Highly Recognized in Lexology Index 2025 (formerly Who’s Who Legal)

Hiroyuki heads our international dispute resolution practice. He specializes in international commercial litigation, arbitration, and mediation, and has represented many international clients, including multinational manufacturers, banking and securities firms, insurance companies, and information media companies, in disputes involving M&A, antitrust laws, corporate governance, insurance laws, intellectual property, defamation, joint ventures, licensing, construction, and other commercial matters, as well as international bankruptcy proceedings. He has been involved in a number of international arbitrations as counsel, sole arbitrator, and co-arbitrator (including chair) before the ICC, JCAA, AAA-ICDR, VIAC, KCAB, and SIAC.

Hiroyuki serves as Vice President of the Japan Association of Arbitrators and as Chief Director of the Japan International Mediation Center in Kyoto; formerly, he served as the Vice Chair of the Arbitration Committee of the IBA Legal Practice Division, and as Co-Chair of the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Committee at the IPBA (2016-2020). From 2013 to 2016, he taught international arbitration and international dispute resolution at the University of Tokyo, School of Law as a visiting professor. He also served as a member of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC (second term, through June 2024) and a member of the Court of Arbitration of the SIAC (2013-2024). Further, after serving as a Council Member of the ICC Institute of World Business Law since 2018, which concluded in 2025, he now holds the position of Emeritus Council Member.

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.

Among other things, Yoshihiko is recognized as an authority on real-estate finance and a pioneer in structured finance. He has advised on various types of real property and its related finance, as well as investment funds, including J-REITs and private real-estate funds. He has been involved in numerous significant transactions employing various structures; these transactions have included a variety of underlying assets, including those that are not monetary claims or real property, such as movable property, whole businesses, and intellectual property. His expertise extends to other international and domestic finance areas, such as banking, trust, and securities regulation, and equity and mezzanine finance including BIS finance, project finance, public sector finance, Islamic finance, and finance in the renewable energy sector, including mega solar project bonds. He also heads the firm’s Middle East Practice Team, and has advised on various matters in relation to that region, as well as Asian countries.

Asa Shinkawa has been a partner in the M&A/corporate group at Nishimura & Asahi since 2001. She has a long and successful history of advising Japanese and international corporations and private equity firms. Ms. Shinkawa has advised on mergers and acquisitions, tender offers, cross border transactions, domestic acquisitions and divestitures and going private transactions, restructurings and spin offs, joint ventures, and numerous other kinds of transactions and commercial arrangements. Ms. Shinkawa has been recognized as one of the world's leading lawyers in the field of Corporate/Mergers and Acquisitions in Chambers Global - The World's Leading Lawyers for Business, since 2009, and is ranked as one of the top practitioners in Japan in the field of Corporate/M&A. She was awarded "Dealmaker of the Year" at the ALB Japan Law Awards 2022,  "Dealmaker of the Year, North Asia" at the ALB Women in Law Awards 2021 and "Woman Lawyer of the Year" at the ALB Japan Law Awards 2020, "M&A Deal of the Year” at the IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards 2022, "Private Equity Deal of the Year” at The Asia Legal Awards 2021 and "Legal Expertise: Creating a New Standard” at the Financial Times Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyer Awards 2019, and has received many other accolades. In addition, she has advised on M&A transactions and integrations/business combinations between public corporations in which merger control considerations were a critical prerequisite for the consummation of the transactions. Ms. Shinkawa has also advised extensively on the application of antitrust law in relation to joint ventures, business alliances and other types of cooperative arrangements between competitors, sole-distributorship arrangements, distribution agreements, dealer agreements and license arrangements. She was engaged in the reform of the electricity system in Japan, as an expert member of governmental committees under the Electricity and Gas Market Surveillance Commission  and various committees of the Advisory committees for Natural resourse and Energy of the METI from 2015 to 2021.

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 2002, Hiroshi has been a partner in the firm’s M&A and corporate practice area. His experience ranges from M&A (business integration, acquisition and organizational restructuring between operating companies, acquisition of listed/unlisted companies by funds, going private, cross-border M&A, etc.) to general corporate law (general meetings of shareholders, corporate governance, various commercial transactions and contracts, financing, personnel and labor, response to legal revisions, disputes, crisis management, etc.). While he has extensive experience in large-scale and complex M&A transactions, he also provides efficient and effective advice depending on the status of the project in areas such as overseas M&A of Japanese companies, expansion into Japan by overseas companies, and support for startup businesses. In crisis management and dispute cases, he provide practical and effective advice to ensure clients achieve their goals based on a thorough understanding of the circumstances faced by the client. His clients are diverse, including domestic and overseas companies, financial institutions, and investment funds.

Mr. Ota has a wealth of practical international and domestic legal experience, focusing on the areas of hostile takeovers, shareholder activism, M&A transactions (including cross-border deals), corporate governance and other corporate matters, domestic/international taxation, and personal information/data protection, and works on a wide range of corporate legal affairs cases. In the NIKKEI’s "Most Successful Lawyers" awards he was ranked in the corporate law category (1st) and the tax category (2nd) in 2024; in the corporate law category (1st) and the M&A category (1st) in 2023; and in the corporate law category (1st) in 2022. In addition, he dedicates himself to research and writing activities that bridge academia and legal practice on cutting-edge issues related to the Companies Act, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, tax law, the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, etc. He has edited and authored many books and papers, such as "Introduction to Corporate Governance" (Iwanami Shinsho), "Hostile Takeovers and Activists" (Iwanami Shinsho), “Schemes and Tax Issues of M&A and Corporate Restructuring, 4th Ed.”, “Corpus Juris M&A - Completely Revised Edition (first volume) (second volume)”, “Handbook on Share Options (Fifth Edition)”, “Corpus Juris Series - Personal Information Protection Legislation (Global)”, “Handbook on Class Shares”, etc.

His practice covers various financial business sectors with a focus on real estate finance, structured finance, and securitization.

While mainly focusing on financial transactions and financial regulations, he has also advised on a variety of projects such as international disputes regarding financial products and M&A transactions (especially those involving financial institutions). Projects he has represented include an acquisition of shares in Seiyu by KKR and Rakuten in 2021, the restructuring of KDDI’s financial business in 2020, and Aozora Bank’s capital restructuring to repay governmental funds in 2013. He won the “Deal of the Year” award at Japan Achievement Awards 2014/2015 hosted by FinanceAsia and the “Japan Deal of the Year” award at Japan Law Awards 2015 sponsored by Asian Legal Business (ALB) with respect to Suntory Holdings’ acquisition of Beam, Inc. in 2014. His practice area also includes international taxation. Taking advantage of his considerable experience in advising on international financial transactions, he provides clients with practical tax advice both at the stage of transaction structuring and during tax disputes, especially in relation to complicated financial instruments. He successfully represented Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance in contesting a tax assessment on a cross-border reinsurance transaction ceding earthquake-related risks. He is also very active in academia. He was a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo, Graduate Schools of Law and Politics from 2010 to 2013 and has been a lecturer at Keio University Law School since 2014. He has authored numerous academic articles such as Corpus Juris Finance (Co-author; Shojihomu Kenkyukai, 2003), Comparative Income Taxation - Fourth Edition (Co-author; Kluwer Law International, 2019), and Analysis of Issue Prices in Public Offerings (Co-author; Yuhikaku, 2015).

In addition to corporate disputes such as shareholder derivative actions and share purchase demands, Masako has extensive experience in technology disputes related to plant accidents, product accidents, patent infringement, and system development issues. She is also well-versed in soil contamination disputes, insurance and reinsurance disputes, labor disputes, and consumer disputes. 

Masako’s main publications include "International Arbitration and Corporate Strategy: Bridging Theory and Practice" (author, Yuhikaku, 2014), "Current Status of Litigation Procedures and Defense Practice Issues Associated with Corporate Activities in the United States" (co-author, Jurist No. 1474, December 2014), "Overview of Intellectual Property Law (5th Edition)" (co-editor, Kobundo, 2013), "Judgments Concerning M&A, etc. and Directors' Duty of Care in Good Faith" (Jurist supplement, May 2013), "M Judgment on M&A, etc. and Director's Duty of Care" (Juristo, May 2013 issue, "Selection of M&A Reorganization Precedents Effective in Practice"), "Commentary on Appeal Court Decision in Fukuoka Fish Market Shareholders' Representative Suit Case - Parent Company Director's Responsibility for Subsidiary Management and Relief" (co-author, Junkan Shoji Homu No. 1970, July 5, 2012 issue), etc. No. 1970, July 5, 2012), etc. 

Akihiro’s experience covers product liability, contractual claims, mass tort claims, and tax disputes, in various industries, in particular in the pharmaceutical and automotive industries. He has also handled disputes arising from M&A transactions, disputes involving construction sites in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and disputes arising from the termination of distribution agreements. He has achieved significant results in international arbitrations, including emergency arbitration proceedings under the rules of the ICC, SIAC, AAA-ICDR, and JCAA. He also advised clients in connection with US civil actions, including class actions, and Japanese judicial assistance for foreign court proceedings.

In one notable case, he successfully defended a Japanese trading company against six large vicarious liability lawsuits, involving claims totaling JPY 48.3 billion, filed by claimants including an affiliate of a US-headquartered investment bank and a US hedge fund. He also recovered JPY 13.3 billion for Shionogi & Co. in an action challenging a tax assessment relating to an in-kind contribution of a partnership interest in a cross-border reorganization for the development of a drug for AIDS. He is currently representing a pharmaceutical company in one of the largest product liability lawsuits in Japan. He is also representing a vehicle manufacturer in a case in which a large number of claimants allege that diesel emission has caused asthma.

He is a graduate of The University of Tokyo (LL.B., 1993) and Harvard Law School (LL.M., 2003), and is licensed to practice law in Japan and New York. He served as a Japanese district court judge from 1998 until 2000, and worked at Arnold & Porter (Washington, D.C.) from 2003 until 2004. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

He is the author of various books and articles in the areas of litigation and international arbitration, including Yasuhei Taniguchi et al. eds., Civil Procedure in Japan (contributor, Juris Publishing). He was awarded the "Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year" at the ALB Japan Law Awards in 2022, and he was selected for ALB Asia Super 50 Disputes Lawyers 2025 by Asian Legal Business.

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.

Norio Maeda is a partner with expertise in transactions involving the acquisition and development of, the financing of, and investment in, Japanese renewable energy projects. He has represented domestic and foreign investors, developers, and lenders, including infrastructure funds, energy companies, and financial institutions from the U.S., Europe, and Asia in numerous green-field and brown-field projects. Norio’s practice also covers transactions involving acquisition and development, investment, and financing with respect to Japanese real estate assets. He is highly skilled at developing innovative investment and financing structures. He has represented domestic and foreign investors, including investment funds, financial institutions, investment managers, and developers from the U.S., Europe, and Asia, in numerous investment and development projects involving sophisticated structures. He also has represented lenders in numerous structured finance transactions involving real estate assets. Norio’s transactional experience includes establishment of Japanese investment platforms into Japanese real estate assets using the TMK and GK-TK schemes, as well as the restructuring of Japanese real estate asset investments. In addition, Norio has extensive experience in inbound cross-border financing transactions for the operation of multi-national corporations in Japan. He has worked on inbound financing transactions under global debt facilities for multi-national corporations headquartered in Asia and other parts of the world. These transactions have involved collateral consisting of various types of assets and have employed a wide variety of credit support structures.

He has an extensive track record representing issuers, managers, and selling shareholders in various capital market transactions, including global IPOs, global follow-on offerings, convertible bond offerings, debt offerings, private investments in public companies (PIPEs), and J-REIT offerings. He has also been active in finance transactions by venture companies.

Tomohiro regularly serves as legal counsel to major financial institutions, trading companies, and energy companies on various projects and project finance transactions. His extensive experience with domestic projects covers a wide variety of sectors including renewable energy, IPP, grid connections, airports, water, and social infrastructure. He also has broad experience with international project financing transactions, including financing for LNG projects, mining projects, and refineries. Tomohiro is recognized as a leading project finance lawyer by Chambers Asia-Pacific, The Legal 500, IFLR1000, Best Lawyers and Who’s Who Legal. He was also named “Energy and Infrastructure Lawyer of the Year” at The Asia Legal Awards 2021.

Hitomi handles patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and other IP-related matters in multiple business sectors, including IT, life sciences and healthcare, machinery, food, fashion, environment and energy, entertainment, financial services, and e-commerce. Ms. Iwase’s expertise encompasses all forms of IP transactional work, both cross-border and domestic, including licensing, strategic alliances, joint development, and asset transfers, as well as various types of IP disputes, including patent/trademark infringement litigation. Hitomi also assists clients in anti-counterfeiting and in the development of IP portfolios and prosecution strategies. Hitomi regularly advises clients on emerging legal issues relating to the latest technology, such as IoT and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as on complex system-related transactions and disputes over such transactions. In the area of data privacy, Hitomi provides extensive advice on data protection and privacy compliance, including on establishing global compliance systems and incidents such as data breaches. Hitomi also advises on related areas such as e-commerce, advertising, and consumer protection.

Kojiro Fujii specializes in the fields of competition law and international trade law. He also covers emerging areas of digital policy/regulations and public policy/regulations, such as those related to sustainability. His expertise in these areas is frequently recognized by international and domestic legal publications. Kojiro also is regularly ranked by Chambers (Band 1 International Trade, Japan and Band 2 TMT, Japan) and Who’s Who Legal (Competition). He achieved the highest ranking in the “International Trade and Economic Security” category of Nikkei’s “Most successful lawyers” (as voted by Japanese companies and peer lawyers) in 2022; he was recognized by Asian Legal Business as one of the Top 15 Technology, Media and Telecommunications Lawyers in Asia in 2023; and he was shortlisted for the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia-Pacific as the Most Innovative Practitioner for his work covering those areas in 2024.

In addition to his career at N&A, he served as the deputy director of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, where he handled several important WTO disputes on behalf of the Japanese government. He also worked at a highly reputable international law firm in Washington DC, where he focused on antitrust matters.

Takashi is a seasoned finance lawyer with experience in various types of financing transactions, including acquisition finance/private equity, venture finance, securitization, real estate finance and asset management, having particular strength in crosscutting financial transactions. By integrating his abundant and wide ranging knowledge and experience, he regularly provides multilateral advice to domestic and international financial institutions, mezzanine investors, private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds and asset management companies. In the field of acquisition finance, where Takashi enjoys an impressive reputation according to Chambers, Legal 500 and IFLR, as a core member of our acquisition finance practice, he has advised our clients in a large number of acquisition financing transactions such as LBO/MBO. His strength has been especially demonstrated in transactions having novel and complex structures. Takashi also has a wide ranging of experience in the field of venture finance. Representing one of the largest Japanese venture capital funds, he has advised on venture capital investments in more than 200 startups around the world including Japan, US, UK, Singapore, Canada, Israel, India, Netherlands and South Korea.

With more than forty years of experience, Chavalit is highly regarded as a leading figure in Thailand. His areas of specialization include dispute resolution, intellectual property, TMT and e-commerce, as well as M&A, foreign investment and corporate law. His extensive experience also includes advising on trade competition, corporate recovery and business reorganization. In particular, Chavalit is renowned in the areas of dispute resolution and intellectual property. He was selected as a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation Thailand 2021 and is ranked as a leading individual for intellectual property in Thailand by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2021.

Takashi is a partner in our corporate crisis management practice. He assists companies in responding to various kinds of emergency situations, including cartels, corruption, window dressing, insider trading, market manipulation, product data falsification, and other misconduct in or outside Japan by aiding in internal investigations, communicating with the governmental authorities concerned or proposing recurrence prevention measures for such misconduct. He also assists companies to implement and improve their preventive measures and advises on how to build and strengthen compliance systems and measures. Not only is he skilled at dealing with large-scale and complex corporate legal scandals involving Japanese companies, but also their overseas branches in Southeast Asia, the USA and in other countries and areas. He also has strong expertise in assisting various foreign companies which face criminal, administrative or civil exposures in Japan. Takashi served as a Japanese public prosecutor from 1992 to 2010. During his time there, he investigated and tried a variety of high-profile white-collar crimes while serving with the Special Investigation Department of Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, and other Prosecutors Offices. He was also engaged in international affairs, including dealing with mutual legal assistance and extradition cases in criminal procedures while serving with the International Division of the Criminal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice. While he was assigned as a First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Japan in Geneva under the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was involved in human rights matters, including drafting and negotiating work for various human rights instruments. During his time there, he earned an MBA degree at the International University in Geneva.

Stephen is a leader of our Cross-Border Transactions Group. Stephen was previously associated with top-tier U.S. international law firms for 12 years, and has experience running cross-border transactions on the ground in the United States, Japan, Singapore, India, Indonesia, and Thailand. Stephen has represented U.S. and non-U.S. buyers and sellers in cross-border corporate transactions in various industries and deal structures, including stock and asset acquisitions, mergers, private equity and venture capital investments, joint ventures and strategic alliances. 
 
 Since joining Nishimura & Asahi in 2004, Stephen has represented numerous multi-national clients in connection with their investments into Japan and their ongoing general commercial transactions (including franchising, licensing, employment, corporate governance and commercial real estate leasing matters). Stephen also has extensive experience leading and documenting Japanese and cross-border due diligence exercises with respect to various industries, and representing Japanese clients in connection with their multi-jurisdiction corporate acquisitions. Stephen is frequently praised by clients for providing cutting edge practical solutions.
 
 Stephen also has represented U.S. issuers in the United States, foreign private issuers from numerous jurisdictions in Asia and global investment banks in connection with their capital markets transactions, including registered initial and follow-on public offerings in the United States, Rule 144A/Regulation S equity and debt offerings, block trades, dual listings and privatizations, and also assessing whether exemptions exist to the application of U.S. securities laws to overseas business transactions.
 
 Stephen writes and lectures widely on his legal practice specialties.

Alexander Woody advises clients on energy and natural resources project investments, development and financing. He has over 20 years' experience in Japan, with a focus on cross-border LNG investments, tolling and purchase agreements and transportation arrangements.

Alex has worked extensively with arbitration specialists to provide strategic advice and assist clients to resolve disputes arising during the course of these long-term projects. He has also advised clients on solar, battery and wind power investments, as well as early stage hydrogen projects.

Alex is ranked by Chambers Global 2022 and Chambers Asia-Pacific 2022 as a Leading Lawyer for Projects & Energy: International - Japan. He is also ranked by the Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 as a Leading Individual: Gaiben for Projects and Energy: International Firms and Joint Ventures - Japan.

In the area of Robotics/Artificial Intelligence, Shin Fukuoka mainly handles AI, Big Data and IoT. He acts as a Member of The Cabinet Office’s “Committee on Human-centered AI Social Principles” and Committee Member of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Investigative Commission on "The AI and Data Contract Guidelines Review Committee". He has also contributed to many publications, including "Law and Strategy of the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence", "Artificial Intelligence: Law and Issues" and "Data Contract Law". In the area of Corporate, he mainly handles M&A and Corporate Governance. In the area of Restructuring/Insolvency, he has been involved in numerous restructuring and insolvency cases, with a focus on cross-border insolvency cases, representing both debtor parties and creditor parties. Most recently, he represented Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha and Japan Airlines as a legal counsel of the debtor and Elpida, Takefuji and Mt.Gox as a creditor’s counsel. He has also handled a number of real estate related disputes.

Mr. Monya specializes in all areas of intellectual property law, mainly handling domestic and international dispute resolutions and transactions relating to patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and all other IP/IT related matters.

Madoka advises clients on various matters of competition law, including domestic and international cartels, bid-rigging, M&A transactions, investigations by the JFTC, leniency applications and general antitrust law compliance. She is especially active in cross-border transactions. She has represented clients in connection with investigations into various global cartels, involving air cargo, marine hoses, TFT-LCDs, airlines, and bearings, and also in various merger-control cases, including a vertical integration between semiconductor equipment manufacturers, and major global merger transactions in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. She has particular strength and experience handling IT-industry mega deals. Madoka is also active in advising in the international trade area, in particular, government procurement and export control. In addition, she advises on laws preventing unfair competition, including trade secret cases. She served as lead counsel to Nippon Steel Corporation in multinational trade secret litigation against POSCO (a South Korean steel company), a landmark case in this area, and successfully negotiated a favorable settlement for her client. She was a member of the Subcommittee on Unfair Trade Policies and Measures of the Industrial Structure Council at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry from 2013 to 2023.

Kentaro has been involved in a significant number of capital market transactions including Euro bond offerings, global bond offerings, IPOs, follow-on offerings and convertible bonds offerings, conducted by both Japanese issuers and foreign issuers, as the issuer’s counsel or underwriter’s counsel. In addition, he advises on compliance with Japanese disclosure and reporting requirements.

Kosuke Shibukawa supports both domestic and foreign banks, leasing companies, other financial institutions, airlines, and shipping companies in a wide range of financing transactions, including asset finance, banking, and acquisition finance transactions.
 In particular, in asset finance transactions, including domestic and cross-border aircraft, ship, and marine container lease and sale transactions, Kosuke provides advice based on his extensive knowledge and experience throughout the entire process, from structuring, documentation, negotiation, and deal execution, to ensure smooth transaction execution. 
 He has been involved in many cross-border project finance transactions, particularly for floating production, storage and offloading systems (FPSO), and floating storage and offloading systems (FSO), and advises a wide range of domestic and foreign financial institutions.

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).

She has a strong track record of representing domestic and overseas clients before the Courts and Patent Offices in Patent, Trademark and other IP disputes and proceedings, including a case that resulted in the first Grand Panel Decision of the IP High Court in Japan. In addition, she has been involved in IP transactions for business development, including license franchising, and corporate projects with Brand & IP strategies. She has been a committee member of the Industrial Structure Council of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan, a member of the special consulting committee for the Minister of METI, and a director of the Japan Trademark Association. In addition, she oversees many lecturers at IP seminars sponsored by bar associations, patent attorney associations, the Japan Intellectual Property Association, etc.

He has been involved in the establishment of a variety of funds, including private equity funds, venture funds, CVC, infrastructure funds, renewable energy funds, and real estate funds. Structuring advice in connection with Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and other securities regulations is his area of specialty. He also actively supports investment activities of funds, such as M&A, LBO finance, and venture investments. Further, he focuses on the development, acquisition, and/or project finance of renewable energy projects supporting developers, including, but not limited to, renewable energy funds. He also has experience in IPP projects abroad as a member of a leading Japanese trading company. He is a member of the Africa practice team and Middle-East practice team, and has a good connection with law firms in such areas. He actively supports Japanese companies in the expansion of their businesses in Africa and the Middle-East.

Nobuhiko Harada specializes in Japanese and cross-border asset finance transactions for aircraft, vessels, marine cargo containers, factory facilities, as well as other finance transactions for real estate, M&A finance, and DIP finance. He has vast experience of JOL/JOLCO transactions for aircraft, vessels, marine cargo containers, and other assets. He also has broad experience in insolvency and business restructuring (both in-court and out-of-court procedures) of various businesses including airlines, ship owners, hotel operators, golf course operators, real-estate business operators, trading companies and their subsidiaries in Asian countries. In addition to the abovementioned fields, he has expertize in airport business and the regulatory compliance of new businesses.

Focusing on disputes arising out of the termination of contracts, in particular for clients in the automotive, pharmaceutical, electronic devices, apparel, and food & beverage sectors, Yutaro Kawabata is a “divorce lawyer” for companies. Since joining Nishimura & Asahi in 2004, he has been involved in a number of major international arbitration and commercial litigation cases.

Lars’ practice is focused on commercial and investment arbitration. He has particular expertise in contentious proceedings involving post-M&A, commercial, manufacturing, construction, and distribution matters, in areas such as life sciences, automotive, and energy. Lars also deals with cases involving governments, and has advised foreign investors and sovereign states on issues of foreign direct investment and public international law, including related negotiations and investor-state disputes. He has been involved in more than 60 international arbitrations as counsel and as arbitrator under the arbitration rules of institutions such as the ICC, DIS, SAC, NAI, ICDR, KCAB, JCAA, SIAC, and ICSID, as well as under the UNCITRAL Rules.

Chié Nakahara specializes in international litigation and arbitration. The disputes she typically handles relate to M&A, distributorship, licensing, franchising, and the termination of such continuous contracts, construction, product liability, corporate governance, intellectual property, finance and other commercial matters. She has acted in a large number of complex and high profile litigations and arbitrations. She serves as a panel of arbitrators at Korean Commercial Arbitration Board International, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and also as a registered arbitrator at the Daiichi Tokyo Bar Arbitration Center.

Tomohiro’s practice focuses on M&A, joint ventures, and general corporate matters, with a particular emphasis on cross-border transactions. In the area of M&A, he has advised on many acquisitions of foreign companies by Japanese companies, MBOs and other de-listings of Japanese listed companies, and mergers and other integrations between listed companies. In the area of joint ventures, he has advised on numerous overseas joint venture transactions between Japanese companies and foreign companies. Over the last few years, he has also been advising clients in the gaming industry, and is ranked in the Gaming & Gambling category of Chambers Global 2025 and Chambers Asia-Pacific 2025.

Prior to joining Nishimura & Asahi in 2017, Natalie worked in London and in Singapore and has acted as counsel in more than 50 arbitration, mediation, and adjudication matters extending across a large range of industries, including shipping, engineering, onshore and offshore construction, aviation, oil and gas, international trade, asset finance, telecommunications, motor racing and automotive distribution. Aside from acting in contentious proceedings, Natalie regularly advises on dispute prevention and risk management. In 2015, Natalie was named Asia Women in Business Law’s “Rising Star for Litigation”. She is ranked in the 2021,2022 and 2023 editions of Who’s Who Legal (Arbitration).She is also ranked in the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Legal 500 (for Real Estate and Construction). Natalie is a contributing author to Singapore International Arbitration: Law and Practice (2nd ed., 2018 , edited by David Joseph, QC and David Foxton, QC).

Noriya advises national and international clients from various industries, with a focus on multi-national data protection law projects, such as drafting policy, data transfer agreements and out-sourcing agreements, IT compliance questions, and data breach issues. Since he has experience working with local counsel in more than 80 jurisdictions, he has in depth knowledge of the similarities and differences among data protection laws in many jurisdictions. He can provide his advice taking into account the difference of Japanese laws and other main data protection laws such as the GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL (China).

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.

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.

Yuji has been practicing in Singapore for more than ten years, since he was seconded to the Singapore branch of a Japanese financial institution. He advises Japanese financial institutions and regional headquarters of multinational corporations in Singapore and start-up companies on cross-border transactions inside and outside of South East Asia. With finance knowledge and experience, he handles a wide range of matters, including general corporate, business alliances, equity investment, finance transactions, joint ventures, startup investment, fund formation such as variable capital companies (VCC) and family offices, real estate investment, personal data, compliance and cross-border disputes. He graduated from a business school in the UK and provides flexible and creative solutions to his clients from a multifaceted point of view.

Yoshi’s practice covers various M&A transactions, cross border deals, and day-to-day commercial businesses, with a focus on Europe-related matters. He lived in Europe approx. 8 years including studying at the master of law at UCL in London, working approx. 3 years in leading firms in Frankfurt, Paris and Italy, a short secondment in Barcelona/Madrid and having regular business trips all across Europe including the Netherlands, Nordic countries and Eastern Europe. As a leading partner of Europe practice and cross-border team, Yoshi provides a tailored legal services in a timely and flexible manner.

*Legal advice in the UK is provided under the name of Nishimura & Asahi UK Limited, a legal entity independent from, and a subsidiary of, Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo). None of Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo), Nishimura & Asahi UK Limited or, the representative, Yoshiyuki Kizu is authorized by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for England and Wales, and none will undertake any reserved legal activity as defined in the United Kingdom Legal Services Act 2007.

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.

Yoko’s practice focuses on representation of life sciences and technology companies that develop and market pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines, diagnostics, medical devices, and digital health products. She specializes in corporate transactions involving complex intellectual property and pharmaceutical regulatory issues, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and asset transfers. In addition, she counsels clients on matters involving research and development collaborations, clinical trials, technology licensing, supply and distribution agreements, and co-promotion arrangements. She also advises clients in connection with privacy and personal data protection matters.

Gai handles a wide variety of IP related disputes including IP infringement litigation and trials as well as non-contentious matters including drafting and reviewing IP related agreements. With an engineering background, Gai has particular expertise in patent related matters but is also adept at handling copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. 

Gai also advises tech ventures and startups on cutting-edge technological matters involving AI, IoT and data including data privacy. Gai served as a member of the team that drafted the “Contract Guidelines on the Utilization of AI and Data,” Japan’s first comprehensive guidelines on AI and data related contracts published by the Japanese Government in June 2018. His strength in technology related matters is widely acknowledged by clients: “Gai Matsushita is particularly experienced in the technical field while having a deep knowledge of law, he is an excellent lawyer who leads his client in the right direction” (Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020).

Gai is active in the field of international dispute resolution. Based on his experience working at leading firms in Singapore and New York, Gai has represented clients in several international commercial arbitration cases seated outside of Japan and in arbitration related domestic procedures including applications for provisional dispositions in Japan.

With regard to EU law, Victor advises governments and corporations on how to navigate the intricacies of EU regulations with a particular focus on assisting clients impact the legislative developments of new regulations and comply with them. Victor also assists companies and governments in trade remedy investigations. He has advised clients in over fifty anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard investigations, successfully obtaining no or low duties for exporters in several instances. Furthermore, Victor has extensive experience in litigating before the Court of Justice of the European Union where he has successfully challenged several measures adopted by the EU institutions.

Turning to international economic law, Victor assists governments in WTO proceedings before panels and the Appellate Body and other appeal arrangements. His experience also includes advising governments and multinational corporations on a variety of economic policy matters such as providing legal opinions regarding the legality of measures adopted by the EU as well as third countries under international trade and investment law. Finally, Victor often assists governments with international trade and investment negotiations by helping them develop persuasive arguments during negotiations and ensure compliance with agreed upon rules.

Victor also teaches part of the course on international trade law at Cambridge University.

Having worked in many different jurisdictions, including in Germany, London, Paris, and Washington D.C., Anne-Marie regularly advises corporations and governments on investor-state and commercial disputes, as well as related negotiations. She is dual-qualified (Germany/England & Wales) and comes from a trilingual background. Prior to joining Nishimura & Asahi, Anne-Marie worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP from 2014 to 2018.

Eriko has a broad practice, having acted as counsel or tribunal secretary in international arbitrations administered by a range of arbitral institutions (including the ICC, SIAC, JCAA), worked with local counsel to advise clients on court litigation in a range of jurisdictions across APAC and Europe, as well as internal and regulatory investigations. She has advised clients in a range of sectors, including auto, manufacturing, construction, financial services and professional services.  

Eriko is a bilingual Japanese / English speaker. She is qualified in New South Wales, Australia and is a registered Gaikokuho Jimu Bengoshi (registered foreign lawyer), licensed to advise on NSW law in Japan.