Public Service Activities in 2017

Activities

Bar Association Activities

Many of our lawyers engage in pro bono activities in addition to their regular duties at the firm. Examples of activities in 2017 are provided below.

During 2017, a total of 15 of the firm’s lawyers served as duty attorneys in 12 cases and as court-appointed defense counsel in 10 cases, and provided free legal counsel in 8 cases.

Public Sector Activities

Many lawyers at the firm serve in internships at governmental offices or serve as members of various councils, research groups and advisory panels that participate in planning policies and drafting legislation.

■ Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

  • Four of the firm's lawyers (namely, Chisako TakayaShiho OnoRina Shimada) conducted research on structures and court decisions in France, Germany and the United Kingdom regarding equal pay for equal work, and submitted a report summarizing the results of the research titled "Research on Employment Practices and Wage Structures in European Countries" for a research project commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
  • As of April 10, 2017, a report titled "Research Report on the Status of the Execution by Competition Authorities in Emerging Nations and Other Counties" was released. Tsuyoshi IkedaShota Ogawa and Ryoichi Inoue took part in creating the report. The report is published on the website of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
  • The "Study Group on an Intellectual Property System Bearing in Mind Industry 4.0, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry," in which Yutaka Miyoshi serves as a member, released a report.
  • Hideaki Umetsu became the member of Expert Group for Drafting Guidebook for Introduction to Climate Change Adaptation Businesses (a project for visualization of climate change adaptation effects in 2017) issued by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

  • Masakazu Masujima became the member of Study Group on Blockchain Legislation, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

  • Yutaka Miyoshi became the member of Unfair Competition Prevention Draft Guideline Formulation Working Group, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Two lawyers has been seconded to METI.

■ Ministry of Finance

  • Five of the firm's lawyers and licensed tax accountants (namely, Atsushi OishiMakoto SakaiAkihiro YamadaHiroyuki Kurihara and Keiichi Bando) conducted research on preferential tax systems in Asian countries and submitted a report summarizing the results of their research, titled "Research on Preferential Tax Systems in Asian Countries," for a research project commissioned by the Ministry of Finance.
  • The firm's lawyers and licensed tax accountants (namely, Atsushi Oishi, Makoto Sakai, Akihiro Yamada, Hiroyuki Kurihara, Keiichi Bando, and Shun Watanabe) conducted research on the Mandatory Disclosure Rules for tax planning in Europe, the United States, and Asian countries as part of the "Research on the Mandatory Disclosure Rules for Tax Planning in Foreign Countries," a research project commissioned by the Ministry of Finance, and submitted a report summarizing the results of their research.

■ Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)

  • Taichi Arai became the member of Study Group on Flexible Work Styles, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

One lawyer has been seconded to MHLW.

■Ministry of Justice (MOJ)

  • Takashi Uchida became the General Council Member of the Legislative Council, Ministry of Justice.
  • Shuya Nomura became the member of the Legislative Council Corporate Law Subcommittee
    (Related to Corporate Governance, etc.), Ministry of Justice.

One lawyer has been seconded to MOJ.

■ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)

Hiromi Hayashi became the member of Logistics Subcommittee of Study Group on Flying of Unmanned Aircraft (Drones) Without Visual Observation and Over Third Parties, Etc., established under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

One lawyer has been seconded to MLIT.

■Financual Services Agency (FSA)

Two lawyers have been seconded to FSA.

■Japan Patent Office

  • Yoshifumi Onodera became the member of Working Group on "Research and Study of Intellectual Property Value Evaluation in Foreign Countries" in the Project for International Comparative Research on Industrial Property Systems for FY 2017, Japan Patent Office.

■ Other public organizations

  • Hideki Utsunomiya became the member of Study Group on Data and Competition Policy, Japan Fair Trade Commission.
  • Yusuke Takamiya became the Visiting Researcher at Competition Policy Research Center, Japan Fair Trade Commission.
  • Shigehiko Ishimoto became the chairman of the APEC Committee of the IPBA.
  • Shuya Nomura became the member of the Council for Utilization of Dormant Deposits, Cabinet
    Office.
  • Takane Hori became the member of the Academia-Industry-Government Forum Regarding the State of Financial and Capital Markets.
  • Toru Ishiguro became the governor (Outside) of Japan Exchange Regulation.
  • Masakazu Masujima became the advisor of Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association.
  • Koji ToshimaHiromi Hayashi became the advisor of Unmanned Aircraft System Survey Council.
  • Hiromi Hayashi became the member of Logistics Guideline Preparation Committee, Japan UAS Industrial Development Association.
  • Yusuke Takamiya became the Non-U.S. Young Lawyer Representative, International Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, American Bar Association.

Educational Activities

A number of lawyers from the firm teach at law schools, universities and legal organizations. In 2017, five lawyers were newly appointed to an educational institution to help foster the next generation of legal professionals.

The firm’s lawyers have also been actively working to train future legal professionals by accepting legal apprentices for practical training and training at a large-scale firm, as well as through other programs such as externships for students.

During the practical training and the training at a large-scale firm, Satoshi Kawai and Chisako Takaya accepted and trained legal apprentices, and other lawyers, including Takuya Iizuka and Masaru Arai accepted 13 externship students from the Chuo University Graduate School of Law, the Tokyo Metropolitan University and other law schools.

In 2017, 39 lawyers taught in 23 educational institutions (listed below) throughout Japan. These institutions vary from public universities and law schools to legal organizations.

Tohoku Region  

The Center for Cooperative Research and Development, Iwate University

Takuya Iizuka
Graduate School of Tohoku University Takuya Iizuka
Tohoku University Law School Ko Fujita and Akira Marumo
Kanto Region  

Graduate Schools of Aoyama Gakuin University

Hiroko Yamamoto and Atsushi Okada
Aoyama Gakuin University Law School Masayuki Matsuda
Keio University Law School Susumu Masuda, Takuya Eguchi, Koichiro IidaHideki Utsunomiya, and Taro Omoto
Seikei University Law School Masahiro Murakami
Chuo University Graduate School of Law Shuya NomuraMasayuki Matsuda, Toshifumi UedaTaro Omoto, Takayuki Kihira and Kentaro Minegishi
The University of Tokyo Takashi Uchida and Daisuke Asai
The University of Tokyo Graduate Schools for Law and Politics Yuto Matsumura and Minoru Sawaguchi
The University of Tokyo School of Law Shigehiko IshimotoTakahiro Iijima and Naoki Shiraiwa
Hitotsubashi University Masahiro Murakami
Graduate Schools of Hitotsubashi University Yoshio Iteya, Seiichi Okazaki and Yohei Koyama
Hitotsubashi University Law School Yoshio Iteya, Minoru Sawaguchi, Hiromasa Arai, Shota Ogawa and Yusuke Ishii
Waseda University Kaoru Kamata and Takashi Uchida
Waseda Law School Kaoru Kamata, Hajime Tanahashi, Takeshi Okuyama, Tetsushi Kamimura and Mitsuhiro Tateishi
Chubu Region  

Kanazawa Institute of Technology Graduate School

Tsuyoshi Ikeda

Nagoya University Law School

Toshimitsu Nemoto, Yoshihiro Kojima and Kentaro Minegishi
Kansai Region  

Kyoto University Law School

Hajime TanahashiGaku Ishiwata and Shuhei Uchida
Kinki University Tsuyoshi Ikeda
Overseas  
University of St. Gallen, Switzerland Takayuki Kihira
Cornell University Law School Takayuki Kihira

 

Public Service Activities in 2017:News

Public Service
Toru Ishiguro became the director of Lawyers for LGBT and Allies Network
Public Service
Yutaka Miyoshi became the member of Unfair Competition Prevention Draft Guideline Formulation Working Group, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Public Service
Masakazu Masujima became the member of Study Group on Blockchain Legislation, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Public Service
Yoshifumi Onodera became the member of Working Group on "Research and Study of Intellectual Property Value Evaluation in Foreign Countries" in the Project for International Comparative Research on Industrial Property Systems for FY 2017
Public Service
Hiromi Hayashi became the member of Logistics Subcommittee of Study Group on Flying of Unmanned Aircraft (Drones) Without Visual Observation and Over Third Parties, Etc.

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