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©2001-2026 Atumi & Sakai
Atsumi & Sakai's Australia/New Zealand practice group is led by two partners admitted in Australia who are resident and practising full-time in Tokyo. Both are registered as foreign lawyers in Japan — one currently licensed to practise Queensland law, the other New South Wales and Victoria law. Accordingly, our firm is well-positioned to advise on the laws of New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria, as well as Australian federal law.
The practice group provides clients with genuinely integrated advice across both jurisdictions — combining expertise in Australian law with the full depth of Atsumi & Sakai's Japanese law capability, delivered through a single, Tokyo-based team comprising registered foreign lawyers and Japanese lawyers. This eliminates the complexity and burden of instructing separate firms in two countries.
The practice operates under Atsumi & Sakai's foreign law joint venture structure. The fact that registered foreign lawyers serve as partners at our firm reflects the firm's long-standing commitment to substantive international practice.
Atsumi & Sakai is an independent, multi-award-winning Tokyo law firm with over 200 lawyers and foreign registered lawyers, including 23 partners and associates admitted outside Japan. The firm operates as a foreign law joint venture drawing on the expertise developed through our comprehensive Japanese-law practice and our international practice — the latter led by a team that includes registered foreign lawyers with backgrounds at some of the world's leading international law firms.
The firm advises a broad range of international and domestic companies, financial institutions, and other businesses across M&A, finance, real estate, disputes, and specialist practice areas including sports law, intellectual property, and luxury and fashion brand law.
Both partners admitted in Australia and registered as foreign lawyers in Japan hold current recognition in The Best Lawyers in Japan, confirming their standing among leading practitioners in their respective fields.
The Australia/New Zealand practice group advises across a broad range of practice areas, working in close collaboration as a team with Atsumi & Sakai's Japanese-law partners:
Practice Areas: Sports Law; Media & Entertainment; M&A & Corporate Reorganisation; Luxury, Fashion & Lifestyle Brand; Intellectual Property; Australia/New Zealand
Admission: State of Queensland, Australia (1997)
Japanese Registration: Registered Foreign Lawyer (Daini Tokyo Bar Association) — Laws of Australia, State of Queensland (2012)
Awards: Best Lawyers in Japan — Corporate & M&A Law (2027); Sports, Media and Entertainment Law (2027) Gaming Law (2026). ALB Japan Law Award — Foreign Lawyer of the Year (2021), Legal 500 Asian Pacifc Sports (Hall of Fame) 2026
ANZCCJ: Member, Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan; former Executive Councillor (to 2025)
Practice Areas: M&A & Corporate Reorganisation; Real Estate Transactions & Development; Hospitality & Hotel Management Agreements; Private Equity & Venture Capital; Australia/New Zealand
Admissions: State of New South Wales, Australia (1996); State of Victoria, Australia (1996)
Japanese Registration: Registered Foreign Lawyer (Tokyo Bar Association) — Laws of the State of New South Wales (Primary Jurisdiction); Laws of the State of Victoria (Designated Law) (2002)
Awards: Best Lawyers in Japan — Corporate & M&A Law; Private Equity, Private Funds & Venture Capital Law (2026)
ANZCCJ: Member, Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan
Both partners are members of the ANZCCJ, Japan's principal business organisation representing Australian and New Zealand commercial interests. The firm maintains active working relationships with the Australian and New Zealand embassies in Tokyo, trade and investment commissioners, and the broader ANZ business community in Japan.
Our firm develops and maintains practical knowledge — through ANZCCJ membership and connections with government agencies, trade, and investment networks — in order to provide clients seeking to enter or expand in the Japanese market with advice that is genuinely useful in practice.