Mr Osamu Fujiwara > Atsumi & Sakai > Tokyo, Japan > Lawyer Profile

The ‘very strong fintech team’ at Atsumi & Sakai guides financial institutions, start-ups and IT vendors through technologically innovative work in areas including payment services, securities, insurance and data privacy. Also of note is the firm’s establishment of a policy research institute in June 2022 which aims to ‘build bridges between policies and practices in Japan that have not been tackled by either public or private institutions’. The practice is headed up by a trio of partners: Yuri Suzuki, Takafumi Ochiai and Kenichi Tanizaki. Suzuki is well versed in stablecoin legislation, Ochiai’s practice extends to dispute resolution matters in the fintech space, and Tanizaki has in-depth knowledge of banking and finance issues including bank APIs. Osamu Fujiwara leads the firm’s start-up support practice team.

Chie Kasahara and Harukuni Ito co-lead the TMT team at Atsumi & Sakai, alongside Fumiaki Matsuoka and Osamu Fujiwara, who head the data, privacy, and cybersecurity team. The firm assists clients with a wide variety of matters, including cyber-attacks, IP disputes, and compliance with the Personal Information Protection Act. Takufumi Ochiai sits within the firm’s fintech team, and represents both Japanese and foreign clients. Kasahara and Ito primarily act for pharma clients in IP and data protection related matters, Matsuoka focuses on cyber security issues, and Fujiwara is noted for his broad corporate expertise.