Leading Japanese law firm Mori Hamada & Matsumoto has announced that it will establish a presence in Yokohama, the nation’s second-largest city. It will be the firm’s seventh domestic office.

Last year, Mori Hamada launched an office in Japan’s northern business hub of Sapporo. The Tokyo-headquartered firm also has offices in Nagoya, Osaka, Takamatsu and Fukuoka.

The Yokohama outpost also continues a recent string of office openings. In 2023 alone, Mori Hamada set up a branch in New York, and entered into an association in the Philippines, apart from the Sapporo office. 

The Yokohama office, to be led by corporate governance and disputes partner Yuta Kawashima, will provide legal services in the areas of disputes, M&A and other cross-border transactions, startups, business succession, crisis management, finance and restructuring to Japanese and foreign companies.

Kawashima, who has been at Mori Hamada since 2007, advises on shareholder relations, arbitration, mediation and alternative dispute resolution, as well as M&A, reorganizations, venture capital and startups.