Notice of the Establishment of Policy Research Institute

Atsumi & Sakai established a "Policy Research Institute" on June 27, 2022.

1. Purposes of the Policy Research Institute

The Policy Research Institute, led by our partner, Takafumi Ochiai, includes lawyers from Atsumi & Sakai, as well as experts with experience in various companies, organizations, and public institutions. The Institute aims to build bridges between policies and practices in Japan that have not been tackled by either public or private institutions, and to disseminate the research results and proposals for consideration by these institutions.

We plan to hold discussions that will serve as a starting point for the formulation of policies and practices that will bring about significant change, while maintaining a medium- to long-term perspective on subjects for which there is no immediate solution.

2. Activities of the Policy Research Institute

The Policy Research Institute will conduct the following activities in addition to study sessions with external experts as described in 4. below.

① Policy and practical research and the development and dissemination of recommendations
② Ongoing information dissemination (Media dissemination and relations, performance planning, explanation of new policies, etc., preparation of discussions that contribute to the formulation of practical operations, etc.)
③ Activities and research in cooperation with public institutions and industry associations, etc.

3. Draft agenda

The following is an excerpt of some of the agenda items that the Policy Research Institute will address. Other items will be added in accordance with the purposes and policies of the institute.

・A comprehensive framework that cuts across laws and regulations and an ideal form of reliable information distribution in relation to infrastructure in the ICT sector
・Financial and information legislation that takes into account the functional differentiation of financial businesses and the financial transaction infrastructure of a society that is changing, including the nature of currencies
・In light of changes in the technological architecture of the Internet and progress in the digital world, such as the development of networks, platforms, and infrastructure for information cooperation, the ideal form of integrated disciplines in information law, consumer law, and competition law that is required in the context of changes in social activities in general
・How to reform the industrial structure with external factors such as carbon neutrality and strengthening the supply chain
・Urban development regulations, living infrastructure development, and financing systems for the purpose of maintaining social infrastructure such as mobility, housing, water, and energy in a society with a declining population

4. Participants in the Workshops

*No particular order and without honorific titles

Toshio Taki (Executive Officer, Group CoPA (Chief of Public Affairs), Head of Sustainability and Head of the Money Forward Fintech Institute, Money Forward, Inc.)
Tatsuya Kurosaka (President, Kuwadate, Inc. / Project Associate Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University)
Makoto Koizumi (Digital Literacy Council Office / Fellow, Fukuoka District Strategy Promotion Council / Project Manager, Quantum Skill Standards Development Committee, Quantum STrategic Industry Alliance for Revolution / Researcher, Graduate School of System Design and Management, Keio University)
Yosuke Miyata (President and Representative Director, K. K. poliflect)
Fuhito Kojima (Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo/Director, University of Tokyo Market Design Center )
Seiko Shirasaka (Director and Professor, Graduate School of System Design and Management, Keio University)
Naoto Ikegai (Professor, Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University)
Kosuke Kunimine (Lawyer, KUNIMINE Law Office)
Hiroki Habuka (Research Professor, Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University / Attorney / CEO & Co-founder, Smart Governance Inc.)
Yuichiro Watanabe (Attorney and Japan Legal Affairs Division Manager of Airbnb Japan K. K., director of Japan In-House Lawyers Association)
Tatsuhiko Inatani (Professor, Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University)
Hironobu Azuma (Principal, The Japan Research Institute, Limited / Specially Appointed Professor, Organization for Research Promotion, Osaka Metropolitan University)
Takayuki Matsuo (Partner, MOMO-O, MATSUO & NAMBA)

Satoshi Narihara (Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Graduate School of Law, Kyushu University)

Ichiro Asahina (CEO, Aoyama Shachu Corporation / Guest Professor, Fukui Prefectural University / Guest Professor, Business Breakthrough University / Director, Harvard Kennedy School Club of Japan)

Gai Matsushita (Attorney / Partner, Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo))

Chika Minami (Attorney, ZeLo, a Foreign Law Joint Enterprise / Representative, Public Meets Innovation)

Mika Koizumi (Director, Small Business Research Institute, Director, Financial Liaison Department and Product Manager, freee K.K. / Guest Lecturer (Gender and Socio-economy), Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus)

Takehiko Nagumo (Representative Director, General Incorporated Association Smart City Institute Japan / Senior Managing Executive Officer, MURC)

Hirokazu Yoshii (Associate Professor, Faculty of Policy Management (Non-tenured), Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus / CEO, Volve Inc. / Joint Representative, SOTONAKA Project)

Emi Maeda (Director of Government Relations, Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.)

Yusuke Tsugawa (Associate Professor of Medicine and Health Policy and Management, University of California, Los Angeles / Board Member, Health and Global Policy Institute)

Yuji Suyama (Co-Founder, Zebras and Company Inc. / Co-Founder, Tokyo Zebras Unite / Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shishin-an Inc.)