PROFESSIONALS

PARTNER

EIJI MASUDA

Career
1987/3 Graduated from the Faculty of Law, Chuo University (LL.B.) and passed the bar examination in Japan
1990/4 Registered with the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association and joined Nishimura Sogo Law Office (currently Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo))
1996/9 Visiting Scholar, Yale Law School, U.S.
1998/10 Joined Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., Ltd. (currently BofA Securities Japan Co., Ltd.)
General Counsel (Private Client Group) (from November 2000 to July 2002) and Executive Officer (from March 2001 to July 2002)
2003/5 LL.M. degree at Columbia Law School, U.S.
2006/9 Registered with the New York Bar Association
2008/2 Established Masuda & Partners Law Office
 
Specialized Areas of Expertise
<Corporate Legal Affairs> ・ Legal advice on the Companies Act and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act
・ Legal advice on M&A
・ Legal advice on compliance/corporate governance, and training for executives and employees
・ Legal advice on labor law, human resources and labor management
・ Legal advice on securitization and financial products
<Litigation> ・ Domestic and international corporate litigation (including cross-border litigation)
・ Administrative litigation
<Bankruptcy and Restructuring> ・ Legal advice on bankruptcy and restructuring, including petitions for bankruptcy, special liquidation, civil rehabilitation, etc.
<Criminal Cases involving Companies>
<Others> ・ Consulting on corporate management/strategy matters
・ Consulting on the strengthening of non-financial capital
・ Corporate Coaching (including executive coaching)
・ Consulting on risk/crisis management (including cyber security (resilience) and economic security risk/crisis management)
 
Main Professional Experience

・ Observer of the Wholesale Retail Working Group at the First Subcommittee of the Financial System Council, the Financial Service Agency (December 1998 to February 2000)
・ Law Lecturer, Chuo Law School (April 1999 to July 2002)
・ Member of the Securities Business Committee, the TSE Trading Participants Association (July 2000 to July 2002)
・ Member of the Disclosure Working Group at the First Subcommittee of the Financial System Council, the Financial Service Agency (October 2001 to March 2002)
・ Mediator, the Japan Securities Dealers Association (July 2004 to June 2011)
・ Member of the Disciplinary Committee at the Tokyo District Office, the Japan Securities Dealers Association (July 2005 to June 2010)
・ Member of the Compliance Committee Regarding Conflict of Interest, Japan Hotel and Resort K.K. (August 2005 to September 2010)
・ Member of the Compliance Committee, the Japan Securities Dealers Association (February 2006 to present)
・ Member of the Special Committee Regarding the Operation of Large-scale Purchase Rules and the Implementation of Countermeasures, GMO Internet Group, Inc. (April 2006 to present)
・ Regular attendance and legal advice as an external expert at the Group Compliance Committee, Resona Holdings, Inc. (March 2007 to December 2011)
・ Member of the Independent Committee on Takeover Defense Measures, Hikari Business Form, Co., Ltd. (April 2007 to March 2010)
・ Outside Member of the Compliance Committee, Mitsui Fudosan Investment Advisors, Inc. (September 2007 to present)
・ Member of the Independent Committee on Takeover Defense Measures, Bull-Dog Sauce Co., Ltd. (September 2007 to June 2017)
・ Outside Corporate Auditor, GMO Pepabo, Inc. (May 2008 to March 2014)
・ Outside Corporate Auditor and Member of the Compliance Committee, au Jibun Bank Corporation (June 2008 to March 2019)
・ Outside Corporate Auditor, Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. (June 2009 to August 2011)
・ Executive Officer, Japan Hotel and Resort K.K. (September 2010 to April 2012)
・ Outside Corporate Auditor, Commons Asset Management, Inc. (February 2013 to present)
・ Outside Director, Kando Co., Ltd. (June 2014 to June 2017)
・ Outside Corporate Auditor, CROSSWARP Inc. (October 2014 to August 2018)
・ Executive Officer, Japan Hotel REIT Investment Corporation (November 2015 to present)
・ Director (Independent Director) and Member of the Audit and Supervisory Committee, GMO Internet Group, Inc. (March 2016 to present)
・ Outside Corporate Auditor, au Financial Holdings Corporation (April 2019 to present)
・ Auditor, Japan Sports Photography Association (May 2019 to present)
・ Outside Director and Member of the Audit and Supervisory Committee, Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. (June 2021 to present)
・ Advisor, Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd. (July 2021 to present)
・ Auditor, Hanamaru Shinsei Foundation (June 2023 to present)
・ Outside Member of the Compliance Committee, Nippon Life Insurance Company (July 2023 to present)
・ Outside Member of Corporate Innovation Promotion Committee, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd.(April 2024 to present)
・ Outside Director and Member of the Audit and Supervisory Committee, Preferred Networks, Inc. (April 2024 to present)

 
Major Works

・ Complete Legal Forms Annotated Vol.29 - "International Civil Litigation" (Sanseido, 1994) [co-author]
・ "International Business Lawyer Data File" (Chuokeizai, 2000) [co-author]
・ "Internal Control System and Compliance at Securities Firm" (Record of Seminar held at the Securities Management Committee of the TSE Regular Members Association, 2000)
・ "Deregulation of Securities Companies - Approaches to Relaxation and Review of Regulations" (Record of Seminar held at the Securities Business Committee of the TSE Trading Participants Association, 2004)
・ "Compliance Required in the Field of Securities Sales" (FR Business July, 2000 issue)
・ "Lifting of the Ban on Securities Brokerage Business and Its Impact" (Financial Compliance Vol.6 No.4, 2004)
・ "Special Feature: Securities Brokerage Business and Compliance Seen in Case Studies" (Financial Compliance Vol.6 No.10, 2004)
・ "Viewpoint of Reviewing Privacy Protection and Compliance" (JCPC NEWS LETTER April 2005 issued by Japan Privacy Consultants Association)
・ "Practice under Japanese New Corporation Law" (Chukei Publishing, 2005) [author & editor]
・ "High Net Worth Business and Compliance" (Monthly Report issued by the Regional Banks Association of Japan, 2005)
・ "Internal Control System at Securities Firms under the New Inspection System of the Financial Service Agency" (Record of Seminar held at the Japan Securities Dealers Association, 2005)
・ "Suitability regarding Financial Instruments" (Financial Compliance Vol.7 No.12, 2005)
・ Prefatory note of Financial Compliance October, 2006 Issue (Banking Education)
・ "Reasons for Repeated Insider Trading" (Business Legal Affairs Vol.12 No.9, etc., 2012)
・ "Technique to Achieve a Purpose" (Diamond, 2009) [author]
・ "Let's Stop! the Compliance with Laws and Regulations" (Forest Publishing, 2012) [author]
・ "Striving to Change Your Life: The Rules" (Kanki Publishing, 2014) [author]
・ "Social Media Risk Management vo.1-5" (Business Law Journal April 2015 issue to August 2015 issue) [co-author]
・ "Theory and Practice of Emotional Compliance vo.1-14" (Business Law Journal December 2016 issue to January 2018 issue)
・ "Emotional Compliance" (Chuokeizai, 2021) [author]
・ "Cyber Risk and Corporate Law vo.1, 4, 5" (Shojihomu Journal No.2317 [co-author], No.2320-2321, 2023 [author])

 
Major Awards

・ Selected as one of the "Best Lawyers in Japan" in 2009, 2010, and 2012-2020.
・ Received "Employment Law Firm of the Year in 2013" from Finance Monthly and ACQ5 and "Labor/Employment Lawyer/Law Firm of the Year in 2013" from Lawyer Monthly in 2013.
・ Selected in 2012 as a "Highly Recommended Lawyer in the Field of Employment and Labor Law", in 2013 as a "Recommended Lawyer and Law Firm in the Field of Employment and Labor Law," and in 2014 and 2015 as a "Recommended Law Firm and Lawyer (affiliated to the firm)" in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific.
・ Selected as a "Prominent Legal Firm" in the field of Japanese capital markets and M&A in IFLR1000 in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
・ Selected as a "Recommended Law Firm" by Asia Law Profiles in 2016 and 2017.
・ Received "Boutique Law Firm of the Year" in Asian Legal Business (ALB) Japan Law Awards in 2018.
・ Selected as "Japan's Top 100 Lawyers 2020" by Asia Business Law Journal in 2020.