Fukuoka is one of the principal cities of the western part of Japan and is recognized as an important market for the Japanese economy, as well as a sales and manufacturing hub for major Japanese companies. In recent times, an increasing number of companies based in western Japan have expanded their businesses into other countries in the Asian region, and business activity in western Japan has grown in significance and become more diversified.

On October 1, 2013, the Fukuoka Office officially starts operations as a branch office of Mori Hamada & Matsumoto LPC. With the opening of this office, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto aims to enhance the services it provides to its many existing clients located in western Japan and also to expand its practice in this important region.

The Fukuoka Office will work closely with the firm’s other offices and make full use of all the firm’s resources and expertise in order to assist clients with the full range of services provided by the firm, including litigation and other forms of dispute resolution, as well as assistance in transactional and regulatory practice areas including domestic and cross-border mergers & acquisitions (especially those involving businesses in South and Southeast Asia), reorganizations, finance, intellectual property, real estate, labor matters and corporate governance.

The Fukuoka Office is initially being led by two of the firm’s partners, Masatake Yone and Atsunori Nobukuni, both of whom are originally from the Kyushu area and have extensive experience in general corporate matters, dispute resolution, mergers & acquisitions and corporate restructurings.

The Fukuoka Office is the first new office opened by the firm after the successful launch of an office in Singapore in 2012 and a desk in Bangkok in 2013. The firm’s practice throughout Asia has continued to expand rapidly after the initial opening of offices in Beijing and Shanghai several years ago. The Fukuoka Office is strategically positioned to work in collaboration with all the firm’s offices in Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok on cross-border matters involving Japan and other countries in the Asian region, and the firm will continue to encourage lawyers working in all offices to work collaboratively in order to provide the best legal services for clients.

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto LPC was incorporated at the time of opening of the Fukuoka Office. MHM and Mori Hamada & Matsumoto LPC will work together through the execution of a service partnership agreement.