Ushijima & Partners > Tokyo, Japan > Firm Profile
Ushijima & Partners Offices
SANNO PARK TOWER 12F (RECEPTION)/14F
11-1, NAGATACHO 2-CHOME, CHIYODA-KU
TOKYO 100-6114
Japan
Ushijima & Partners > The Legal 500 Rankings
Japan > Dispute resolution: Independent local firms Tier 2
The dispute resolution practice group at Ushijima & Partners is jointly led by Shin Ushijima and Osamu Inoue, the latter of whom is recommended for his experience in real estate and construction disputes. The team is also able to assist clients in securities litigation, international arbitrations, derivative suits, disputes surrounding software development, and hostile takeover cases. Hiroshi Watanabe regularly handles corporate control cases, while Rikisuke Yamanaka is proficient in labour disputes and cross-border transactions. Alongside disputes in system and software development, Hiroyasu Kageshima is experienced in copyright law and privacy matters.Practice head(s):
Shin Ushijima; Osamu Inoue
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Ushijima and Partners is well-known as one of few independent firms who can handle international corporate and finance disputes .’
‘Shin Ushijima and Osamu Inoue have outstanding expertise representing international clients, especially investment funds in financial and corporate dispute cases.’
Key clients
Oasis Management Company
Work highlights
- Advised Oasis Management Company on potential legal proceedings regarding an M&A transaction, including seeking invalidation of the share exchange.
- Filed a lawsuit on behalf of Oasis Management Company seeking damages associated with a share exchange.
Japan > Real estate and construction: Independent local firms Tier 2
Kohtaro Tamura
, an expert in real estate transactions and securitisation, leads the real estate and construction team at Ushijima & Partners. The group has 'outstanding experience and knowledge' of real estate transactions, advising clients on the full range of matters within the sector. Naoki Hieda is particularly skilled in the drafting of sale and purchase, lease and construction agreements. With a strong background in finance matters Hiroki Awahara has a wealth of experience in real estate investment and finance transactions, while Masahiro Shiotani has deep expertise in securitisation. The team is noted for its cross-border capabilities, with Nao Makita advising both foreign and domestic, investors, banks and funds. Makita also has experience in real estate-related disputes, particularly in relation to leases, land pollution and construction. Practice head(s):
Kohtaro Tamura
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘The team has an outstanding experience and knowledge of real estate deals. Their work is very speedy.’
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Work highlights
Japan > Corporate and M&A: Independent local firms Tier 3
Ushijima & Partners‘ corporate and M&A practice is particularly strong in defending against hostile takeovers, with this being name partner and co-head Shin Ushijima‘s area of expertise. Hiroshi Watanabe, who also leads the team, is experienced in litigation linked to M&A transactions. Other key contacts within the practice include Osamu Inoue, whose work includes advising international clients on acquisitions of Japanese companies; Rikisuke Yamanaka, who handles cross-border transactions; and Takashi Osawa.Practice head(s):
Shin Ushijima; Hiroshi Watanabe
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Ushijima is among a few independent law firms in Japan that can provide Corporate and M&A services to international clients. Especially it has rich experience in working with foreign investment funds.’
‘Osamu Inoue has outstanding expertise on international disputes in corporate and financial matters.’
‘Rikisuke Yamanaka often presents views in accordance with the law, but in the process of communication, he derives a legal opinion that suits our company, so it is easy to consult and discuss M&A but also corporate law with him.’
‘The people are great at this firm.’
‘My attorney has been helping every step of the way. I completely rely on him for everything.’
Key clients
Oasis Management Company
Kabushiki Kaisha Inage Driving School
Work highlights
- Advised Oasis Management Company on potential legal proceedings it could pursue regarding an unfair M&A transaction, filed a petition for determination of the (fair) share price following the exercise of appraisal rights, and filed a lawsuit seeking invalidation of the share exchange and damages associated therewith.
Japan > Labour and employment: Independent local firms Tier 3
Ushijima & Partners‘ practitioners are well placed to deal with the full range of labour and employment matters, including employment litigation, negotiations and investigations. Leading the group is Rikisuke Yamanaka, who ‘is very professional and has a lot of experience’ and handles an array of labour law issues. The team often works with international clients, and is praised for being ‘very responsive, sensitive to and familiar with global business needs and norms’ as well as ‘helpful in explaining unique aspects of Japanese law and culture to global management’.Practice head(s):
Rikisuke Yamanaka
Testimonials
‘Very responsive, sensitive to and familiar with global business needs and norms, helpful in explaining unique aspects of Japanese law and culture to global management. An excellent and reliable guide to Japanese legal issues.’
‘Rikisuke Yamanaka is really the only individual at Ushijima we have worked with, but I would count him among the best of our network of employment attorneys around the world. He is always professional and very responsive.’
‘The law firm collaborates well with our company.’
‘Rikisuke Yamanaka is very professional and has a lot of experience.’
‘I’ve been working closely with the employment lawyers at this firm for many years. They have assisted numerous American clients with Japanese operations and have provided practical and highly responsive advice.’
‘Rikisuke Yamanaka is very smart and creative and very easy to work with. His English is excellent and he understands how to provide the advice that is expected from American companies.’
‘The team has ample experience of handling employment law issues in Japan for foreign clients, such as cross-border employee transfers.’
‘Rikisuke Yamanaka is very responsive, and he can provide commercially practical advice based on his experience of various employment law matters in Japan.’
Japan > TMT: Independent local firms Tier 3
Ushijima & Partners have experience in providing support to businesses on new information & communication technology; the firm also regularly advises on cybersecurity and data protection matters from various jurisdictions, including U.S., China, and the EU. The TMT team is headed by partner Hiroyasu Kageshima, who handles a variety of matters, including data leakage, internet service, personal data, and IT system development. Partner Kohei Tsuji is an expert in data privacy and has experience with complex cross-border personal information transfers in over numerous jurisdictions.Ushijima & Partners > Firm Profile
The firm:Â Ushijima & Partners is a full-service law firm representing domestic and international clients in Japan and providing overseas legal services to Japanese clients both directly and through its international alliances, such as Multilaw, ELA and LAW. The firm was founded in 1985 by Shin Ushijima and currently numbers 66 attorneys.
The firm represents clients across a broad range of industries, including financial institutions, trading companies, manufacturers, system integration vendors, IT service providers, construction companies, real estate companies, broadcasters, telecommunications, entertainment, distributors, professional associations and public or quasi-public agencies. The firm also represents high-net-worth individuals in the areas of family business planning and trusts and estates.
The founding partner is a leading practitioner in general corporate matters, including compliance and corporate governance, and is often interviewed on TV and in the media. The firm has significant experience in M&A, representing corporations in both international and domestic M&A for either acquirers or targets and in the hostile takeover defence area. The firm has long experience representing major domestic insurers and its founding and managing partner is an outside director of a major domestic insurer. The firm has an elite reputation for its deep knowledge and high level of practice in real estate and securitisation. The senior real estate partner is well known as a major pioneer and eminent practitioner in the securitisation of real property with wide knowledge of the relevant laws. The firm has expertise in intellectual property and technology including major disputes involving system development and integration. The firm has expertise in labour matters and has won precedent-setting victories in corporate restructuring for a major well known multinational company, and in injunctive relief to prevent the former president of a major well known multinational company from competing. The firm also has significant victories in soil contamination and construction litigation.
Some of the firm’s attorneys have served as high level prosecutors in the Ministry of Justice and the Public Security Intelligence Agency, as well as in-house general counsel, in international organisations, and as chairmen or advisors of numerous committees relating to REIT and real estate investment, including MLIT and the Ministry of Construction and the Japan Real Estate and Japan Economic Research Institute. Associate attorneys are regularly seconded to government agencies.
All of the firm’s Japanese attorneys are bilingual in Japanese and English, and its clients comprise roughly 50% domestic and 50% international. The firm has native English-speaking, US-admitted attorneys assisting in presentation and communication to clients.
Although a very large part of the firm’s practice is corporate, the firm has a strong reputation as top litigators in litigation and dispute resolution, including acting for major multinational companies with subsidiaries in Japan, and is often sought by clients aware of its reputation by word of mouth as the go-to litigation counsel in Japan.
Areas of practice:Â The firm is a full-service firm providing strategy, advice, negotiation, transactional work and dispute resolution for multinational and domestic companies under Japanese law (and through its relationships internationally) in the following areas, namely: corporate, including general corporate practice (both domestic and international); compliance/corporate governance; M&A; hostile takeover; labour/employment; tax; real estate; environmental law; financial regulations; finance/securitisation; insurance; restructuring/insolvency and corporate rehabilitation; risk management; antitrust; litigation (including international commercial litigation)/alternative dispute resolution (including arbitration); international transactions; international investment; antitrust; intellectual property (including patent, trade mark and copyright); entertainment; internet, media and technology; customs/trade; contracts; Asia practice; and international inheritance/international divorce.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate | |||
| Compliance/corporate governance | |||
| M&A | |||
| Hostile takeover | |||
| Labour/employment | |||
| Tax | |||
| Real estate | |||
| Environment | |||
| Financial regulations | |||
| Finance/securitisation | |||
| Insurance | |||
| Restructuring/insolvency | |||
| Risk management | |||
| Litigation/arbitration | |||
| International transactions | |||
| International investment | |||
| Antitrust | |||
| Entertainment | |||
| Internet, media and technology | |||
| Customs/trade | |||
| Contracts | |||
| Intellectual property | |||
| System development | |||
| Personal information/utilization of personal data | |||
| Information management/cyber security | |||
| Asia practice | |||
| International inheritance/international divorce |
Lawyer Profiles
Staff Figures
Number of lawyers : 66Languages
English JapaneseMemberships
Multilaw Employment Law Alliance Lawyers' Associated Worldwide (LAW)Other
Contacts : Shin Ushijima (founding partner)Notable Cases
Urban Renaissance Agency/Muza Kawasaki Litigation
Successfully represented the lead defendant, Urban Renaissance Agency, in a case brought by a local government as the owner of a world-renowned symphony hall (Muza Kawasaki) for JPY 2 billion in damages against our client as the seller of the hall and seven of its designers and contractors when the ceiling of the symphony hall collapsed during the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The case involved highly technical construction defect claims for special construction of the elaborate 2,000 seat hall. On May 31, 2018, the Yokohama District Court rendered judgment entirely in favor of our client and the other defendants, and this victory was affirmed by the appeals court on November 7, 2019.