United Kingdom

Atsumi & Sakai has decades of experience in advising UK-based clients on Japan-related matters, both under Japanese law and English law*, in particular in the fields of Banking, Capital Markets, M&A, Regulatory, Inward Investment, Employment Law and Data Protection.

 

We were the first Japanese law firm to admit an English solicitor as a partner and the first Japanese law firm to open an independent London office in January 2015.

 

Our UK Team comprises experienced bilingual Japanese and UK lawyers in our London and Tokyo offices, and an English solicitor in our Tokyo office licensed to practice English law in Japan.

 

Our UK expertise includes:

• A London office staffed by experienced bilingual Japanese lawyers
• A UK-based English consultant and former Tokyo-based partner with over 20 years’ experience advising on Japan-related matters
• A team in our Tokyo office headed by our previous London managing partner
• An English solicitor in our Tokyo office registered to advise on English law in Japan
• A Japanese partner in Tokyo admitted as an English solicitor
• Japanese lawyers with experience working in the London offices of international law firms
• Most of our Japanese lawyers are able to advise and draft in English

Our core practice areas include:

• Banking
• Real Estate Transactions
• Structured Finance and Securitization
• M&A, Corporate Reorganization, and Joint Ventures
• Labor and Employment Law
• Derivatives
• Inward Investment
• General Corporate Legal Affairs
• Fintech
• Intellectual Property Transactions
• Overseas Disputes and Litigation
• Financial Regulation
• Data Protection, Privacy, and Cybersecurity

Sample Material Transactions:

• Advised a group of leading international banks on a global trade receivables securitization for one of the world’s largest computer and electronics manufacturers (one of the largest ever trade receivables securitizations)
• Advised a European bank on a global trade receivables securitization for a leading multinational agrochemical group
• Advised a UK AI/Fintech company on a joint venture with a Japanese listed company for a business in Japan, including trademark, regulatory, employment, and data protection issues
• Advised a portfolio company of a private investment management firm on its acquisition of a global technology company, which made the client one of the largest data management software companies in the world
• Formation of multi-billion dollar English law real estate investment funds for the acquisition of commercial real estate in Japan
• Advising UK-based international private equity investors on bids, acquisitions, investments, and disposals in Japan
• Advising a UK-based global insurer on offering its products in Japan
• Advising a UK-based global telecoms company on regulatory, employment, and data protection issues in Japan
• Advising UK-based multinationals on handling and reporting data breaches
• Advising a UK-headquartered global cosmetics retailer group on financing, employment, and other corporate matters
• Advising a US- and UK-based multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare group on real estate transactions in Japan
• Advised numerous UK banks in connection with finance transactions in Japan
• Advised UK companies on data protection, consumer protection, and other regulatory issues in connection with Japanese market entry
• Advised a Japanese trading house on investment in a UK technology company

Related Awards

• Asian Legal Business Japan Law Awards “Overseas Practice Law Firm of the Year” for three consecutive years: 2018, 2019, and 2020
• Naoki Kanehisa (London managing partner): The Best Lawyers in Japan 2022 (Structured Finance Law, Project Finance and Development Practice)
• Ryuichi Nozaki (previous London managing partner):  IFLR 1000 Financial and Corporate 2021 (Leading Lawyers (Highly regarded) - Banking, Capital markets: Structured finance and securitization); The Best Lawyers in Japan 2022 (Capital Markets Law); The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom 2022 (Information Technology Law) (the only lawyer in Japan and overseas to be ranked in both The Best Lawyers in the UK 2022 and Japan 2022)

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Related Publications

• "UK Seeks to Preserve its Position as the European Financial Center with the "Edinburgh Reforms"," Weekly Financial Affairs, March 7, 2023 issue (2023) 

• "Dealing with Brexit from the Legal Perspective of Japanese Firms: the Current Situation and What to Keep in Mind" (March, 2020)

 

Related Seminars

• "Cross-border Succession Assets and Beneficiaries in Japan and in the UK," hosted by Japan Association in the UK, February 24, 2021
• Moderator at a presentation about Immigration & Employment, AI and Corporate Law by the Law Society of England and Wales at the joint seminar "Brexit Impacts on Legal System and Practices," hosted by Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association and the Law Society of England and Wales, supported by Japan In-House Lawyers Association (JILA), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, February 17, 2020
• Panel discussion entitled "Development of the Asset Management Ecosystem in Japan," at the event entitled "Tokyo–London Financial Seminar 2020," hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the City of London, January 29, 2020
• "Legal Issues in the Japanese Market," at the seminar entitled "Blossom in Japan: Embracing new global opportunities," hosted by The UK’s Department for International Trade, September 18, 2019
• "ROUND TABLE ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS UK & JAPAN COMMERCIAL LAW," at the event entitled "TRILATTRADE- On UK-EU-Japan relations in Trade, Regulation & IP," hosted by City Law School and Keio Law School, September 18, 2019
• "Fintech trends in Japan and the UK," hosted by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and the British Japanese Law Association, September 26, 2018
• "UK Economy & Business Seminar," hosted by the British Embassy Tokyo, November 24, 2017

 

Related Professionals

Tokyo office