Mikinao Kitada joined Mori Hamada & Matsumoto in March 2014 in the role of special counsel.

In the past, he served in the positions of Superintending Prosecutor at the Sapporo High Public Prosecutors Office and Superintending Prosecutor at the Osaka High Public Prosecutors Office after having worked at six district public prosecutors offices, including the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, during which he engaged in investigations and trials for general criminal cases as well as cases involving corporate crime, politics, and tax evasion, while at the same time supervising these cases.

He has also previously assumed positions as the Director of the International Affairs Division of the Criminal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, the Director of the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI), the Director-General for Inspection of the Minister’s Secretariat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Director-General of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, during which he performed central roles in the handling of international criminal cases relating to mutual legal assistance and extradition as well as in the negotiation of international treaties and conventions relating to criminal matters, training programs for government officials in the criminal justice system in Asian countries in particular, investigation of scandals related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the inspection of embassies and consulates general.

By welcoming Mr. Kitada as a special counsel, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto will endeavor to improve its legal services related to the establishment of global compliance structures and crisis management by companies.

I was honored to be invited by Mori Hamada & Matsumoto to join the firm as a special counsel after retiring from my position as the Superintending Prosecutor at the Osaka High Public Prosecutors Office on January 9, 2014. In the 37 years and 9 months since I qualified as a public prosecutor in April 1976, I have worked at six district public prosecutors offices, including the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, and two high public prosecutors offices, as well as the Ministry of Justice (the Minister’s Secretariat, the Criminal Affairs Bureau, and the Research and Training Institute), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (at the Japanese Embassy in the United States of America and as the Director-General for Inspection), and the Public Security Intelligence Agency (as Deputy Director-General and Director-General). When I was working on the front line as a public prosecutor, I was involved in investigations and trials for general criminal cases as well as cases involving corporate crime, politics, and tax evasion, and I was also engaged in duties related to the handling of international criminal cases relating to mutual legal assistance and extradition, and also duties related to the negotiation of international treaties and conventions relating to criminal matters during my service at the Ministry of Justice and the Embassy of Japan in the United States of America. In addition, I handled training programs for government officials involved in the criminal justice system in Asian countries in particular as the Director of UNAFEI, and then, as the Director-General for Inspection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I traveled all over the world to investigate scandals related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to inspect embassies and consulates general. During my service at the Public Security Intelligence Agency, I supervised information gathering and analysis activities conducted by the Agency, while at the same time working to provide information to the Prime Minister’s Official Residence and other authorities in Japan and to exchange information with related agencies in Japan and overseas. Looking back over my career, I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to gain such valuable experience by engaging in duties that have been so diverse and exciting, and I am looking forward to making the most of my experience to contribute to society as an attorney-at-law.