KAMORI AKIMITSU

Practice Areas

Based on over 40 years of experience leading large-scale, complex cross-border matters at the forefront of Japanese international and M&A legal practice since its dawn, our firm provides the highest standard of legal services to foreign corporations, domestic enterprises, and entrepreneurs in an agile and comprehensive manner.

[Our Solid Foundations and Global Track Record]

Akimitsu Kamori, our Principal Attorney, launched his career under the direct mentorship of the late Toshiro Nishimura, the founder of Japan’s largest law firm (now Nishimura & Asahi) and a true pioneer of M&A in Japan.

Mr. Kamori subsequently spent six years as an associate (attorney admitted in the State of New York) in the New York office of Dewey Ballantine (later Dewey & LeBoeuf), a then prestigious New York firm globally renowned for its M&A practice. In an era when it was virtually unprecedented for a Japanese attorney to be deeply involved as a core member at the highest echelons of the U.S. M&A scene, he served as a pioneer, being involved in numerous historic mega-deals—including Mitsubishi Estate’s acquisition of the Rockefeller Group—and developing genuine international negotiation skills.

1. M&A and Corporate Governance (Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Restructuring, and Shareholder Relations)

This is the definitive core practice of our firm. Over the years, we have led and participated in numerous landmark M&A transactions and corporate acquisitions involving Japanese enterprises, representing global investment banks, major financial institutions, and corporations.

• Strategic M&A and Corporate Restructuring: Structuring corporate acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, cross-border M&A, and associated transactions with sophisticated consideration of corporate reorganization taxation.
• Unsolicited Takeovers, Shareholder Proposals, and Proxy Fights (Primary Focus Area): Providing strategic planning and legal support for both defense and offense in unsolicited (hostile) takeovers, shareholder proposals by activists, and proxy fights (solicitation of proxies), which have been rapidly increasing in the Japanese market in recent years.
• Venture and Startup Support: Offering legal consulting for domestic and international fundraising, venture capital financing, and initial public offerings (IPOs).

2. Structured Finance and Capital Markets

We have a wealth of experience advising both issuers and underwriters on fundraising transactions utilizing cutting-edge financial techniques.

• Structured Finance (Securitization): Structuring (pioneering) asset securitizations backed by commercial real estate, consumer loan receivables, and accounts receivable (including the construction of true-sale trust structures), as well as asset-backed finance.
• Capital Markets: Assisting with public offerings and private placements of equities and bonds, convertible securities, securities issuances in Japan by foreign enterprises, capital raising in overseas markets such as Euro-dollar and Euro-yen bonds, and compliance with large shareholding reporting requirements.
• Asset Finance and Institutional Lending: Negotiating and executing international aircraft finance (including Japanese Leveraged Leases [JLL] and operating leases), and international or domestic loan and lease agreements.
• Financial Regulation and Compliance: Providing legal advice based on the latest information regarding new product development in the banking, securities, and investment advisory sectors, responses to inspections by the Financial Services Agency (FSA), and deregulation in the financial markets.

3. Inbound/Outbound Support and Global Governance

Drawing on our long-standing tradition of introducing advanced Western transactional frameworks to post-war Japan and subsequent supporting Japanese enterprises as they expand their investments into the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, we provide end-to-end support for cross-border transactions.

• Direct Investment and Market Entry: Assisting foreign enterprises with entering the Japanese market (establishing subsidiaries/branches, obtaining licenses and permits, commercial real estate and hotel investments, etc.) and supporting domestic companies with expanding into overseas markets.
• International Transactions and General Corporate: Drafting, analyzing, negotiating, and executing a wide range of international agreements, including manufacturing, sales, and import/export contracts for pharmaceuticals and food products, plant construction contracts, and technical assistance agreements.
• Global Data and Documentation Control: Strengthening legal oversight for multinational corporations (including their Japanese subsidiaries) by unifying and managing corporate documents (various minutes, privacy policies, codes of ethics, employment regulations, etc.), handles commercial registrations, and public notices in the official gazette (Kanpo) or daily newspaprers.
• Utilization of Global Networks: Responding promptly to local matters worldwide through close collaboration with leading law firms globally, utilizing a flexible co-counsel approach that is not restricted to any single exclusive network.

4. Foreign Entrepreneurs, Working Visas, and Permanent Residency (Primary Focus Area)

Leveraging our extensive track record of supporting foreign corporations and international investors, we provide robust, comprehensive support for foreign entrepreneurs and elite global talent to smoothly launch and maintain their businesses in Japan.

• Support for corporate formation and startup operations in Japan.
• Procedures for obtaining and renewing working visas, including “Business Manager” and “Highly Skilled Professional” visas.
• Legal consulting and application agency services for permanent residency and Japanese naturalization (citizenship).

5. Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, and Regulatory/Administrative Matters

Based on our deep expertise and extensive experience representing both sides of disputes (creditors/debtors), we handle everything from proactive dispute prevention to aggressive litigation management.

• Litigation and Arbitration: Representing clients in complex domestic and international commercial litigation, international arbitrations (under JCAA rules, etc.), and cross-border/white-collar crime matters, including U.S. antitrust violations.
• Intellectual Property (IP): Advising on licensing agreements for patents, trademarks, and copyrights; joint technology development; entertainment and athlete performance/endorsement contracts; and handling IP infringement litigation (including a track record of securing Japan’s first landmark court judgment establishing that video game software qualifies as a “cinematographic work” under the Copyright Act).
• Insolvency and Business Reorganization: Extensive experience in broad practice areas including voluntary liquidations, corporate reorganizations, civil rehabilitations, and bankruptcy proceedings.
• Taxation: Handling the interpretation of tax treaties, tax dispute resolution, and legal matters relating to corporate reorganization taxation.
• Labor and Employment: Drafting employment regulations, resolving overtime and harassment issues, advising on internal compliance, designing labor measures for corporate restructurings, and drafting non-compete, anti-poaching, and confidentiality agreements. We possess specialized know-how in preventing and resolving employment disputes unique to the Japanese operations of foreign enterprises.