The Legal 500

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune’s corporate practice is ‘justifiably thought of as among the top four in the country’, with M&A, private equity and equity capital markets all strong areas. Osamu Hirakawa is a ‘genuine corporate specialist’, the ‘highly commercial and responsive’ Masaakira Kitazawa is strong on the finance side, and Tsutomu Miyano is well known for his work in the telecoms field. In a major deal, the firm acted as Japanese counsel to VeriSign on the $1.3bn sale of its identity services business to Symantec. Other representative clients include Kagawa Bank, Mitsubishi Logistics and Nissin Healthcare Food Service Company.

At Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Gaku Ishiwata is recommended for his ‘calm and collected approach’, and recently advised Coca-Cola West on its $750m acquisition of food and drink company Q’Sai from Daiwa Corporate investment. The ‘responsive and intelligent’ Yuto Matsumura continues to score points with clients for his ‘excellent ability to coordinate transactions’ and had a hand in several major deals over the past year; advising Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group on its £4bn acquisition of RBS’s project financing business stands out in size and profile. Other noted partners include Satoko Kuwabara - singled out for her ‘strong domestic and international experience’ - and ‘heavyweight M&A partner’ Satoshi Kawai.

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu’s enviable client list includes major Japanese multinationals, private equity funds and financial services companies, but it has a particularly broad coverage of the electronics sector. In 2010, Yuko Tamai and Tomohiko Iwasaki led advice to Panasonic Corporation on the ¥800bn take private of Sanyo Electric and Panasonic Electric Works - involving three listed companies and two concurrent tender offers. The firm also advised Sanyo Electric on the sale of its semiconductor business. Koichi Takeuchi heads a large team that also includes newly made-up partners Kazuo Tsuiki and Akemi Suzuki.

Nishimura & Asahi is ‘a leading M&A powerhouse’, which is reflected by its prolific deal list. The firm advised on more M&A deals with a Japanese involvement than any other firm in both the first and second quarters of 2011. Among its recent cases, being part of the successful global opposition to the BHP Billiton/Rio Tinto joint venture stands out for size and profile. The firm’s corporate capability is impressive, around a quarter of the firm’s partners work exclusively on M&A matters but the main names to note include ‘market doyen’ Takashi Ejiri, the ‘very commercial’ Koichi Kusano and Masakazu Iwakura.

Atsumi & Sakai scores points for the fact that ‘several lawyers have acquired advanced law degrees from top colleges overseas - this ensures solid reliability in collaborating in cross-border M&A’. Miho Niunoya heads a corporate team that ‘consistently exceeds expectations in quality, responsiveness and cost-competitiveness’ and that ‘offers a good alternative to the traditional Big Four’. Corporate finance specialist Ryuichi Nozaki is particularly recommended for his ‘skill in building personal relationships’ and for ‘quickly identifying the business issues’. Recent highlights include advising a financial instruments business on its subsidiary’s acquisition of shares.

TMI Associates’ commitment to cross-border work is seen through its China and France desks, as well as its ever-increasing list of foreign associations; it currently has strong relationships with Simmons & Simmons in the UK, Morgan Lewis in the US and Arqis Rechtsanwälte in Germany. Recommended lawyers include the ‘quick thinking’ and ‘very approachable’ Kunio Namekata as well as dual UK and Japan-qualified M&A specialist Yoshihiko Fuchibe. Recent highlights are plentiful but advice to Nissin Healthcare Food on its ¥120bn sale to Watakyu Seimore Corporation stands out.

Although a relatively new firm, City-Yuwa Partners has come on in leaps in bounds since its formation in 2003, with peers describing it as ‘entrepreneurial’ and ‘well-resourced’. The firm handles general corporate work through to M&A and regulatory issues, but tax-related matters are a particular strength. Demonstrating its commitment to growth, the firm promoted Yumiko Aoi and Hideyuki Tanaka to the partnership in 2011.

At Hayabusa Asuka Law Offices, team head Kunihiro Sumida is recommended for corporate advice, particularly relating to IP matters. Clients are drawn from the mid-market and include companies from the sports and media sectors, alongside blue-chip-listed and private investment houses. Notably, the team also fields a solid amount of in-house experience across the oil and gas and IT industries.

Boutique firm Momo-o, Matsuo & Namba may be small but it ‘punches above its weight in terms of client service and commerciality’. The firm has a good track record in advising international companies on establishment in Japan but it also maintains a good domestic client list. Among the firm’s recent experience, it has advised on M&A transactions, regulatory matters and restructuring issues.

Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners retains a strong domestic focus but its Shanghai office ensures it receives a good share of China-related work and it also has good links with US and European firms. Corporate reorganisations with a regulatory element are a particular specialism due to its good government relationships, but it also handles general corporate work. Shiro Kuniya is considered a ‘bengoshi doyen’.

Established in March 2010, Endeavour Law Office is a specialist corporate and IP practice set up by former TMI Associates partners Naoko Mizukoshi and Yasuko Teraura. IT matters are a particular sweet spot - Mizukoshi used to work in-house at Microsoft - and the firm is very experienced across the full range of general corporate matters.