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

The legal team provides advice across all business lines in Japan on a wide range of matters including contract negotiations, regulatory interpretation, corporate governance and dispute resolution. We regularly support strategic initiatives involving the Japan office, such as the launch of new business offerings, and cross border transactions that align with global objectives.

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

A constant focus on risk excellence while maintaining flexibility to respond rapidly to changes in the environment is vital to protect the core values of the organisation during times of change. Our goal is to be strategic partners to the business – using our unique vantage point to be a sounding board to fulfill our core mission to mitigate legal risk, while contributing to broader decision.

Based on your experience in the past year, are there any trends in the legal or business world that you are keeping an eye on?

The pace of change in the legal and business landscape makes it challenging to single out just one trend, but technology undoubtedly stands out. In particular, the emergence of AI and new technology-based tools for contract content and life cycle management provide possibilities for enhanced efficiency, productivity and consistency within legal departments.

Another area of close attention is the accelerating wave of regulatory developments, especially in financial services. This includes evolving guidance on cryptocurrencies, increasing restrictions on investments in sensitive sectors, and other fast-moving areas of financial regulation.

What factors influence your team’s decision to use external legal services versus handling matters in-house, and what criteria are used to evaluate their performance?

We typically engage outside counsel for matters involving specialised expertise.

In selecting outside counsel, we take a holistic approach. Traditional factors such as efficiency, quality of work, and responsiveness are important considerations, but we also place strong emphasis on communication, collaboration and the ability over time to incorporate our strategic objectives and risk tolerance into the advice received.