What are the most significant cases, projects, or transactions that you and your legal team have recently been involved in?

As part of its technology strategy to strengthen core technologies, the Fujitsu Group has announced the launch of a new large language model (LLM) called “Takane,” as the latest addition to our AI platform “Fujitsu Kozuchi,” which was introduced last year. Our team has supported the acceleration of business from multiple perspectives—legal, intellectual property, and ethics—by identifying legal issues and proposing necessary risk mitigation measures that consider business models, particularly in the use and delivery of new technologies such as AI. We are also working seamlessly across borders to address country-specific challenges, such as those posed by the EU AI Act. As the legal team of a technology company, we aim to be a team that incorporates cutting-edge technologies and supports our business clients in solving their challenges and broader societal issues.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

The legal function has a critical role in times of crisis and instability; a role which is becoming increasingly important. During these periods, the legal team supports organisational resilience through proactive risk assessment, agile teaming, and continuous adaptation to evolving risk landscapes. Leveraging our globally connected team, we rapidly exchange information which facilitates informed decision making and equips stakeholders with the insight needed to navigate complex situations. Legal has a unique opportunity in these times of instability to bring clarity, stability, and direction to business leadership.

What strategies do you employ to ensure the successful digital transformation of a legal department while maintaining compliance with your country’s data protection laws?

We take a privacy by design approach to the digital transformation of our legal department. This approach transcends jurisdictions as a fundamental building block of responsible digital development. We evaluate new technologies to ensure we only collect necessary personal data to facilitate the functionality of the tool and limit access to such personal data to what is necessary. We can gather valuable data about the operations of our legal department without processing excessive personal data. By embedding data protection principles as a foundation of how our tools and new technologies are implemented, we ensure compliance with all applicable regulations while building the trust necessary to successfully digitally transform our legal system.

Given the current geopolitical shifts and growing uncertainties around international free trade, has your company’s risk profile evolved, and are you taking measures to address these challenges?

In the technology industry, change is constant. The legal team is structured to continuously adapt to emerging risks and business priorities. The current uncertainties do impact the risk profile, but the measures taken are a continuation of our strategic approach to providing legal services. Our approach is based on leveraging our global network to identify and analyse the information available, use our digital technologies to share that information and identify trends, and work through close stakeholder relationships to provide insight and strategic options. As the pace of change has increased, we must rely more on our digital technologies to process large amounts of complex information quickly and use it to derive actionable insights.

Looking forward, what trends do you foresee in the legal landscape over the next five to ten years that companies should prepare for?

The growth of AI is undoubtedly the most transformative trend over the next five to ten years. AI is relevant as a driver of geopolitical shifts, as a complex regulatory challenge, as a force for market disruption and, of course, as a technology that can change the nature of legal services. In all of these areas, the Legal team has a key role in responding to and ensuring the organisation benefits from the opportunities this technology provides. As well as continuing to introduce AI in our legal operations, the immediate priority is to develop the AI literacy of the team to ensure the whole function is equipped to respond as this trend continues to accelerate and evolve.