Mori Hamada & Matsumoto > Tokyo, Japan > Firm Profile

‘The Mori Hamada antitrust team is first rate. Their substantive advice is spot on, responsiveness is exemplary. ’

‘I would single out Hideki Utsunomiya and Kenji Ito.’

‘Excellent competition team. One of the best in Japan with specialist lawyers that can provide us with advice on any competition issue from mergers and acquisitions to behavioural issues. ’

‘Yusuke Takamiya and Aruto Kagami are both excellent with great expertise of competition law and international experience. ’

‘The gold-standard firm for Japanese matters! Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is the firm of choice for US firms or clients looking for top-tier representation from the Japanese bar.’

‘I have worked with several Japanese firms, and I have found the Mori Hamada team to be among the best. They are adept at handling crisis situations and think very strategically.’

‘The team is very responsive and provides practical advice for clients and they have a good relationship with JFTC.’

‘Kenji Ito is excellent and responsive.’

‘The firm has many excellent lawyers enrolled, but also has a remarkable attitude of aiming for the optimal solution after accurately grasping the client’s intentions.’

‘They have extensive knowledge.’

‘Hiroki Aoyama has deep knowledge and experience about syndicated loan arrangements and documentation.’

‘Yuki Matsuda has a wealth of knowledge about M&A finance for small and medium-sized enterprises and suggests ways to solve problems.’

‘The most important consideration is their legal advice and capability to provide solutions, and we think they have done a great job.’

‘Toshimitsu Nemoto is outstanding. He has a good sense of balancing risk management and new initiatives.’

‘All members of Mori Hamada & Matsumoto provided us with appropriate and well-thought-out advice in a timely manner. They are highly experienced in the field.’

‘Toshimitsu Nemoto has broad knowledge and experience across capital markets. He understands very well what we want and advises exactly what to do to solve the issues from practical stand points.’

‘They provided very high level and quick responses, giving reasonable advice not only from legal perspectives but also from commercial perspectives.’

‘Great teamwork and profound insight.’

‘Katsuyuki Tainaka is always client-oriented and provides us with excellent solutions.’

‘Yu Nimura is a stand-out associate in terms of his engagement and dedication to the transactions and clients.’

‘The firm expertly handled the negotiations with their knowledge, experience, and skill in crafting creative solutions to accommodate and satisfy the needs of all parties, while taking care to protect our interests.’

‘Strong ability to communicate with customers and team strength to respond to diverse customer needs.’

‘Norihito Sato has deep knowledge of the customer’s industry and a strong ability to communicate with customers.’

‘They have lots of lawyers with M&A experience, and are reliable in difficult situations.’

‘Yoshihiro Kojima and Masaaki Hirota are outstanding. Both of them know our investment banking business well, and are very reliable “partners” in M&A advisory situations.’

‘Norihito Sato is very good at coming up with thoughtful and practical solutions to accommodate the different parties, while making sure to protect our interests.’

‘They are extremely high performers for tough negotiations with the counter party, providing high level scheme and negotiation strategies, and preparing contract drafts in a timely manner.’

‘Kana Manabe is fully devoted to her clients. She is as incisive as she is decisive. Her team is diverse, and she is pleasure to work with. ’

‘Kana Manabe has deep knowledge of local matters.’

‘Mugi Sekido stands out for his very fast response time, and his intercultural sensitivity is unique.’

‘Mugi Sekido is commercial, solution focused, responsive, and practical. ’

‘Mugi Sekido has a deep understanding and extensive experience of handling international conflict for many Japanese clients.’

‘The team stands out for their very fast response time and clear recommendations for action.’

‘They are responsive, commercial, great at forming teams, and working with clients. ’

‘Their size, organisational strength, and network make them standout.’

‘Mori Hamada & Matsumoto Law Firm has a reputation and credibility as one of Japan’s top firms. This is difficult to achieve without longstanding strong connections with the authorities, but on this point, we can trust this firm.’

‘Our company has engaged Masafumi Masuda as our legal adviser. Even in the unique and innovative field of blockchain games, he offers extremely logical and appropriate perspectives, taking into consideration the background of the business.’

‘I have engaged the firm for over ten years. The firm has been consistently very competent and diligent in the assistance they provide. The firm’s client service, commercial awareness and value for money is very good.’

‘I have been working closely with Mr. Masafumi Masuda, a partner at the firm. Mr. Masuda possess the ability to deal with very complex legal issues especially in the computer mobile application, blockchain, and fintech space with excellent problem solving skills, good drafting and well-honed legal technical skills.’

‘Profound business approach when it comes to handling of legal matters, which is sometimes difficult to find in Japan.’

‘Yoshi Onodera is very proactive, business driven and flexible. Very reliable performance.’

‘MHM produces regular newsletters informing its clients on the latest developments in the areas of new technologies such as AI and metaverse, Web3, following activities by the government and summarizing key points.’

‘MHM lawyers have provided flexible support service depending on the budget and level of importance, complexity of the matters on case-by-case basis, according to our needs/requests. MHM lawyers have made themselves available despite tight schedule in times of need.’

‘The leading and dominant law firm in the arena of publicly offered offshore (non-Japanese) funds in Japan. The firm has great expertise and experience in this arena.’

‘Ken Miura is a very seasoned lawyer. He has a strong relationship with financial regulators.’

‘I think that the team is very useful for investment funds. Each member of the team has a deep knowledge and understanding of the investment fund business. They understand our intentions of the solutions for the problems and give us prompt replies and good advice.’

‘Yasuzo Takeno is one of the best lawyers in the field of investment fund and asset management in Japan. Takeno has a profound and practical knowledge of the investment fund business in Japan and foreign countries. In addition, he has a deep knowledge and understanding of the investment fund business in Cayman Islands and Luxembourg. I think that one of his strengths is his ability to understand the clients’ business well.’

‘Nobuharu Onishi knows our business very well and he always brings solutions to our customers.’

‘They have high quality lawyers advising the highest quality clients. They are one of the go-to firms for investment funds. They lead the market in terms of technical advice and innovative products.’

‘Nobuharu Onishi has become the go-to lawyer in the practice for investment funds. Very commercial, hands-on and technically exceptional. Yasuzo Takeno and Ken Miura are the legal statesmen of the Japanese investment funds industry. Keita Nakano is one to watch.’

‘This firm has many excellent lawyers. They have a lot of specialities and cover a wide range of employment issues.’

‘Yoshikazu Abe has a wealth of experience and knowledge of labour matters and he always gives us appropriate advice.’

‘Response from the team is timely.‘

‘Shiho Ono is an outstanding Japanese employment lawyer. She provides excellent practical advice and is my first point of call when my clients require Japan employment law assistance. Her advice is crystal clear, concise and practical. I highly recommend Shiho.’

‘They are always very quick to respond to all of our questions and issues that we face. If the questions/cases are simple, they provide us with the detailed legal practice to follow. If the cases are complicated and sensitive, they carefully choose words to negotiate with other parties that we have a problem with for amicable resolution.’

‘Yoshikazu Abe is the partner I work with on labour dispute issues. He is super helpful and he is very quick at replying to my inquiries. He provides insightful and practical legal advice to me. I really appreciate him.’

‘Usually, two to three attorneys assist us with each case, and I have nothing but gratitude for the advice and the speed of the advice.’

‘Chisako Takaya has an exceptional knowledge especially in labour law and employment related matters. She tries to solve the issues whilst understanding cultural differences. Their qualities are extraordinary. I value their work so much. I cannot appreciate enough that they are with us.’

‘Their answer is always satisfactory to the client and the client respects their professional attitude and advice in practice.’

‘Mori Hamada & Matsumoto has a unique offering in the field of private wealth that is not seen in other law firms in Japan. They have specialised expertise and strengths not only in legal matters, but also in taxation and trusts.’

‘We consider Oishi to be a leading expert in family governance in Japan. When supporting family governance for large family businesses, we heavily rely on Oishi’s expertise.’

‘Oyama has gained high trust in taxation judgment due to his experience as a secondee to the National Tax Authority. Not only do we rely heavily on Oyama for supporting family businesses, but we also rely on him for cases where taxation is a difficult problem. We always find Oyama’s advice accurate and reliable.’

‘The firm covers both legal and tax practices for UHNW individuals and families in Japan. The team also maintains a tax accountant office. For business families, such nature of MHM’s Wealth Management team is positively accepted.’

‘Atsushi Oishi is the partner leading MHM’s wealth management practice team. He is active in sourcing potential clients from major financial institutions, wealth managers, and within their firm. His way of thinking is to avoid legal disputes among family members and/or families against other stakeholders for the benefit of his clients. It makes wealth management clients a bit comfortable compared with other major law firms to face legal disputes.’

‘Koyo Madokoro is a certified tax accountant in Japan and a partner of MHM’s wealth management team. His expertise is rooted in his experience at tax accounting firms and it makes wealth management clients more comfortable’.

‘I have closely worked with MHM team for a renewable project in Japan. MHM combines legal, commercial and even technical aspects. The firm is an outstanding firm with integrity and empathy. Their advice were not only risk adverse but also creative to tackle a difficult situation by actionable solutions.’

‘Hironobu Noma is a remarkable lawyer. His in-depth knowledge is not limited to legal, but extends to financial, commercial and engineering matters. His remarkable business skills helped us to bridge finance and engineering. Without his support, we have never ever achieved financial close and involved the new financial facilities applied for the first time in the country.’

‘Deep knowledge of renewable energy industry in Japan and swift and timely responses.’

‘Takahiro Kobayashi has a deep knowledge of the renewable energy industry in Japan and provides flexible and practical solutions.’

‘Ability, experience and scale to prepare contracts required for real estate securitization; ability to explain simply and clearly to the person in charge; familiarity with the management of real estate transactions in Japan; flexibility and quick response required to execute transactions; and readiness to respond to the latest legal regulations and trends.’

‘Takahiro Sato is familiar with the practice of securitisation of real estate in Japan. In addition, he assumes Japanese judicial practice and drafts contracts in accordance with the terminology of Japanese law. He does not overestimate his abilities and acts in the interests of his clients, enlisting the help of other lawyers in the firm when necessary.’

‘There is an abundance of excellent human resources. Speedy and accurate responses. They provide a wealth of information and seminars on related work, and offer services that contribute to the client’s business even if there is no specific request for work.’

‘Masahiro Saeki is not only familiar with Japanese real estate fund schemes in general, but also with overseas schemes, and can provide appropriate advice when working with overseas funds.’

‘MHM has a deep knowledge of Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and Act on Investment Trusts and Investment Corporations, and has accumulated a wealth of these cases, and is able to provide prompt and accurate legal responses in these areas. MHM always obtains information on new legislative, examines their impact on practice, and provides that information to clients quickly.’

‘MHM’s members have abundant knowledge and experience of the real estate and capital market practice and has provided us advice which is not only legally correct but also constructive and practical based on the deep understanding of our business and situations as well as the latest market trends. Saeki is outstanding in the field of J-REITs and listed infrastructure funds. ’

‘Each person in charge presents the best explanations and solutions to the legal questions and problems we want to solve, with a sense of speed and punctuality. Additionally, Masahito Saeki’s abundant experience and cross-cutting knowledge in the industry, as well as legal interpretations of issues and proposals for response policies, are extremely helpful in my work.’

‘Abundant track record in revitalisation projects for Japanese global companies. Capable of handling finance, markets, M&A, antitrust law, business revitalisation, and all other areas.’

‘Top experts in Japanese corporate turnaround and distressed workout. Top notch both on the deal making side and the litigation side, very well connected in the industry and has insightful and unique approaches. Can rely on them for the documentation, due diligence, and the actual in court proceedings.’

‘Always worked with Soichiro Fujiwara and Takahiro Inou, both partners who know the deals and have vast experience of working with active market participants in Japan.’

‘Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is one of the few Japanese law firms that can respond very quickly, globally and provide reliable solutions.’

‘Mr. Hiroshi Yamauchi is fully experienced in compliance-related matters and can provide reliable solutions to the clients based on his great experience.’ 

‘The risk management team of Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is very responsible to the client and supports many clients with regard of forensic investigations.’

‘Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is the most famous team as the legal practice has deep experience in the investigation of accounting fraud in Japan. We are very satisfied their performance.’

‘Mr. Yasuhiko Fujitsu, is the one of the most famous lawyers who has deep experience. Mr. Suguru Miyata is also experienced in the investigation of accounting fraud in Japan and he had been in the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. They have conducted an outstanding performance.’

‘They have the expertise of a lawyer and the practical ability of a businessman. They are what clients hope for when facing serious incidents.’

‘A mindset that never forgets humour even in tough situations.’

‘The team has a very strong technical ability and expertise to handle very complex transactions including cross-border disputes. They always provide consistent, timely advise and solutions.’

‘Experienced as a team, expertise, practical advice, quick responses on cases, and quick updates to the latest trends.’

‘Quick response time, good negotiation skills, and a wide variety of realistic alternatives.’

‘In the past, we worked with Mori Hamada & Matsumoto for the several M&A deals. Those deals were very complicated because my company has highly diversified businesses. Mori Hamada & Matsumoto had supported the deals with excellent experiences and knowledge. Thay can organize the complication of the deals and offer appropriate solution.’

‘Norihito Sato helped us with his diverse and sophisticated experience, knowledge and skills.’

‘As MHM is a full-lineup law firm, they can provide a one-stop services to clients. We usually assign this firm for M&A transaction and disputes, but we can ask them relevant areas, for instance, regulatory matters.’

‘The team has plenty of knowledge regarding autonomous driving and MaaS (Mobility as a Service) areas and connection with Japanese authorities.’