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 2018 are provided below.

• Seiichi Okazaki became the officer of the Closely Held and Growing Business Enterprises Committee, Corporate Law Section, International Bar Association.
• Katsumasa Suzuki became the Chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Subcommittee in the Security Law Committee, International Bar Association.

• Atsushi Okada became the member of Examination Committee on Contract Guidelines for the Project to Accelerate Cooperation in the Global Venture Ecosystem (Startup Factory Establishment Project)

During 2018, a total of 52 of the firm’s lawyers served as duty attorneys in 22 cases and as court-appointed defense counsel in 50 cases, and provided free legal counsel in 39 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)

• Atsushi Okada became the member of Working Group for Study Group on Data Contract Guidelines, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
• Atsushi Okada became the member of Study Group on AI and Data Contract Guidelines, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (concurrently serving as the chair of a working group for the study group).
• Atsushi Okada became the member of Examination Committee on Subsidy to Promote Industrial Data Sharing for FY 2017, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
• Takuto Ichimura became the member of "Working Group for Examination of Gas Business Systems," Basic Policy Subcommittee on Electricity and Gas, Electricity and Gas Industry Committee of the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy.
• Takuto Ichimura became the member of "Joint Working Group for Electricity Resilience" under the following subcommittees of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: the Basic Policy Subcommittee on Electricity and Gas.
• Gaku Ishiwata became the member of the Fair M&A Study Group, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

• Yusuke Takamiya became the member of "Globalization, Innovation, and Competition Policy Project," Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

One lawyer has been seconded to METI.

Financual Services Agency (FSA)​

• Shuya Nomura became the Adviser to the Inspection Bureau, Financial Services Agency (Member of the Offered Opinions Review Committee) (reappointment).

Four lawyers have been seconded to FSA.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)​

One lawyer has been seconded to MHLW.

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

• Atsushi Okada became the Expert Member of Study Group on Data Contract Guidelines in Agricultural Sector, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

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

• Yusuke Takamiya became the Observer of "Council on Utilization of Beaches for Tourism Resources," Japan Tourism Agency.

Cabinet Office

• Masakazu Masujima became the member of Assessment Committee for Innovative Business Activities, Cabinet Office.

Other public organizations

• Hajime Tanahashi became a director of the Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs.
• Takuto Ichimura became the member of the Subcommittee on Examination of Markets for Demand and Supply Adjustment, Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators.
• Susumu Masuda became the Member of First Instance Body (FIB) for Club Licensing, Japan Professional Football League.
• Koji Toshima became the advisor for Japan Roof Drone Association.
• Hiroko Yotsumoto became the member of Selection Committee for The Foundation for Research into Civil Dispute Resolution.
• Atsushi Okada and Yutaka Miyoshi became the Member of Japan Patent Attorneys Association's "Working Group for Reviewing Training Curriculums in Response to Revisions to the Patent Attorney Act".
• Mikito Ishida became the Director of CFA Society Japan.
• Atsushi Okada became the member of Examination Committee on Contract Guidelines for the Project to Accelerate Cooperation in the Global Venture Ecosystem (Startup Factory Establishment Project).

Educational Activities

A number of lawyers from the firm are currently teaching at law schools, universities and legal organizations. In 2018, six lawyers were newly appointed to educational institutions to help foster the next generation of legal professionals.

The firm has also been offering the opportunity to experience the work of a lawyer and actively strives 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.

In 2018, 41 lawyers taught in 20 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
Keio University	Hiroyuki Tanaka
Keio University Law School	Susumu Masuda, Takuya Eguchi, Koichiro Iida, Hideki Utsunomiya, Taro Omoto and Yuko Kanamaru
Seikei University Law School	Masahiro Murakami
Chuo University Graduate School of Law	Shuya Nomura, Toshifumi Ueda, Taro Omoto and Takayuki Kihira
The University of Tokyo	Takashi Uchida, Daisuke Asai and Atsushi Okada
The University of Tokyo Graduate Schools for Law and Politics	Yuto Matsumura and Minoru Sawaguchi
The University of Tokyo School of Law	Shigehiko Ishimoto, Takahiro Iijima, Naoki Shiraiwa, Hiroyuki Tachiiri, Hirotada Kobayashi and Ryotaro Tanaka
Hitotsubashi University	Masahiro Murakami
Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University	Yoshio Iteya, Minoru Sawaguchi, Seiichi Okazaki, Yusuke Ishii, Yohei Koyama, Hiromasa Arai and Shota Ogawa
Waseda University	Takashi Uchida
Waseda Law School	Hajime Tanahashi, Takeshi Okuyama, Tetsushi Kamimura and Mitsuhiro Tateishi
Chubu Region
Nagoya University Law School	Toshimitsu Nemoto and Yoshihiro Kojima
Kansai Region
Kyoto University Law School	Hajime Tanahashi, Gaku Ishiwata and Shuhei Uchida
Overseas
University of St. Gallen, Switzerland	Takayuki Kihira
Cornell University Law School	Takayuki Kihira
University of São Paulo, Brazil	Nobuhiko Suzuki

Pro Bono Projects

The firm actively participates in pro bono projects, including legal education projects and refugee assistance activities, mainly through team-based endeavors undertaken by our younger lawyers.

Further, lawyers of the firm participate in various activities that encourage respect for diversity among individuals. As an example, one of our lawyers is a director of Lawyers for LGBT and Allies Network (LLAN).

• Takashi Ugajin and Chihiro Tsukada participated in a program in which they, together with representatives from JPMorgan, provide law-related education to junior high school and senior high school students.
• Chihiro Tsukada and Yurika Inoue participated in a program in which they, together with representatives from JPMorgan, provide law-related education to junior high school and senior high school students.
• Toru Ishiguro participates in a joint press conference on marriage equality and the recruitment and retention of LGBT talent in Japan held by foreign chambers of commerce in Japan.
• Annual report issued by Japan Association for Refugees, in which the firm serves as a partner.
• In response to requests for foreign-language versions of "Suspect's Notes," explanatory materials for suspects who cannot understand Japanese, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations has been progressively preparing foreign-language versions of "Suspect's Notes," and foreign members of the firm have taken part in the creation of several of these foreign-language versions.

Award

Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia Pacific 2018

The Financial Times published its fifth annual Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers Report on 7 June 2018. Mori Hamada & Matsumoto was ranked 10th in the list of “Most Innovative Law Firms (Asia-Pacific)”, making it the only Japanese law firm to be ranked among the top 25 five years in a row. In the Report, we received commendation for our pro-bono work in providing legal education and refugee application support, and raising awareness for the LGBT community.