What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past twelve months?

Over the past twelve months, my team and I have supported the company’s transformation in Japan during a period of significant change in the healthcare environment. Our work included advising on the restructuring of elements of the go-to-market model, responding to evolving regulatory, quality, fair competition and promotional requirements, and strengthening governance to meet rising expectations from regulators, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders.

A key focus was to enable the business to move faster without compromising integrity. Rather than positioning Legal as a gatekeeper, I worked to ensure that legal advice became a source of strategic clarity: identifying the real constraints, separating legal requirements from internal assumptions and helping the business choose commercially viable paths that remained compliant and sustainable.

Please describe a situation where your advice had a significant impact on business outcomes or objectives.

One example was an unexpected operational issue that could have affected the timely supply of essential medical devices to healthcare providers. Importantly, this was not a product liability, patient injury, product quality, or safety-related matter. The issue was how to navigate a time-sensitive regulatory and operational situation while continuing to serve customers in a lawful and responsible manner.

The business needed a decision within hours. After a focused legal and regulatory assessment, I advised that proceeding under a carefully structured approach was supportable, provided that we implemented appropriate safeguards and documentation. I also explained the remaining risks in practical terms, so leadership could weigh them against the business and customer impact of delaying supply.

Based on my understanding of Japanese legal practice, I recommended moving forward rather than stopping operations unnecessarily. Once aligned, my team worked with the business to secure the necessary notifications, adjust relevant contractual arrangements and prepare contingency measures.

The result was that we avoided supply disruption, maintained customer confidence and enabled the business to act faster than others in the market. The experience illustrated how in-house counsel can contribute not by eliminating every risk, but by helping the business distinguish between unacceptable risks and manageable ones, and by creating a structure that allows responsible decisions to be made with confidence.

What are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

Modern in-house counsel must be fluent in both law and business. Legal advice becomes powerful only when it is translated into decision-ready business language: P&L impact, margin implications, cost of delay, cash-flow effects, launch timing, inventory consequences and reputational exposure.

Senior leaders do not need abstract legal analysis; they need a clear view of options, trade-offs and recommended action. I therefore aim to explain risk in practical terms, including probability-weighted downside, mitigation measures and value-preserving alternatives. This positions Legal as a trusted and strategic business partner rather than a control function.

Cultural intelligence is also essential. Having read The Culture Map, attended Erin Meyer’s lecture and participated in related leadership training, I have become more conscious of Japan’s high-context communication, consensus-building and sensitivity to uncertainty. At the same time, through my experience working in both Japanese and U.S. environments, I understand that global companies also require speed, clarity and direct accountability. My role is to bridge those styles: respecting Japanese cultural dynamics while helping global leadership make timely, well-informed decisions.

AI remains at the forefront of conversations about the future. How can in-house counsel ensure the successful integration of legal tech, while maintaining the human element?

AI is reshaping legal work, and I believe in leading adoption through curiosity and responsible experimentation. I used Copilot to build my own AI Twin, designed to reflect my approach to structuring legal and business risk. I shared it with the Legal team to help frame issues, test scenarios and prepare first drafts more efficiently.

This improved speed and consistency, particularly in response to internal feedback that legal judgment could vary across team members. However, our principle remains clear: AI supports judgment but does not replace it. Final decisions require context, stakeholder sensitivity, ethical discernment and accountability.

For me, AI is not a substitute for in-house counsel. It is an enabler of faster, more consistent and more business-oriented legal judgment.