Message from Mr. Hasegawa

I am honored to have joined Mori Hamada & Matsumoto as a special counsel from April 1 this year.

During my 34 years as a public prosecutor, I served in the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, High Public Prosecutors Offices in Tokyo and Hiroshima, District Public Prosecutors Offices in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, Hiroshima, and elsewhere, and the Secretariat and Financial Division of the Minister’s Secretariat and the Criminal Affairs Division of the Criminal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, among other offices, where I was engaged in investigations for cases involving the Special Investigation Division, such as those concerning finance and the economy, bribery, and large scale corporate crime, and cases involving the First Criminal Investigation Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, such as murder, and was in charge of assisting the Minister, dealing with the National Diet, budgeting, and support for prosecutions, among other matters.

Subsequently, I served as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission for six years from December 2016, ensuring fairness and transparency in the capital markets and protecting investors through inspections and investigations, recommendations of administrative monetary penalties and administrative disposition, and criminal prosecution in cases of unfair trading, such as insider trading or market manipulation, violation of disclosure regulations, and violations of laws or regulations by financial instruments business operators. Within this context, I focused on publications aimed at preventing violations and improper conduct, as well as identification of, and dialogue concerning, root causes to prevent reoccurrence, and in doing so I worked to strengthen market self-discipline.

Through my work I have observed the complex nature and causes of, and sorrow resulting from, a variety of corporate scandals, and I look forward to utilizing the expertise and experience I have gained in the prevention of such incidents to be of service to society as a member of the firm.

April 2023
Mitsuhiro Hasegawa, Attorney-at-law