Japanese Big Four firm Nishimura & Asahi has continued its aggressive international expansion with the opening of an office in Hong Kong. The office will make it the first major Japanese law firm to directly open an outpost in the Asian financial centre.
“This is the first registration of its sort granted to a major Japanese law firm. The office will open in Hong Kong by the end of 2024,” Nishimura said in a statement.
Fellow Japanese firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune has had an association in Hong Kong – through Nakamura & Partners – since 2020.
The Nishimura Hong Kong office will be led by partner Ryuichi Sakamoto, who will relocate from Tokyo later this year. Sakamoto has over ten years of experience handling asset finance transactions, including vessel and aircraft leasing and fund and asset management matters, including those involving private equity funds, investment trusts, ETFs, and other domestic and international finance matters.
He will be joined by former Nishimura partner Saori Okada, who is currently the name partner of Okada Law Firm. She has spent approximately ten years in Hong Kong, and has been engaged in local deals and transactions ranging from M&A to corporate matters.
The Japanese giant has been following its clients abroad in recent times, announcing new offices in London and Brussels by early 2025.
“Our firm has been providing a wide range of legal services to Japanese companies seeking to establish a presence and engage in business activities in Hong Kong. Nishimura & Asahi also represents Hong Kong companies and other overseas companies with a presence in the area that engage or wish to engage in business in Japan,” Nishimura said in a statement.
“The matters we have been involved with range from the establishment of subsidiaries, mergers and acquisitions, and providing support for clients engaging in various types of trade in Hong Kong,” the firm added.
Nishimura’s entry into Hong Kong is part of the firm’s strategic Asian expansion moving from a regional firm to a pan-Asian one, increasingly challenging the traditional dominance of global players in key financial centres.
The firm expanded its presence in Southeast Asia in the last year with a new office in the Philippines, and partner hires in Thailand and Vietnam.
