Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners

A. Introduction Today, the importance of information as an asset is increasing due to the evolution of digital network technology and its widespread use in business. The increase in the number of work-from-home situations triggered by the pandemic has also made the value of information for individuals even greater. In particular, among the different types of information, the group of data known as “big data” is becoming a source of value for companies given the remarkable development of IoT, the means of collecting data, and AI, which analyzes and utilizes such data.

A. Introduction Over 130 countries across the world have merger control regulations. A majority of them have introduced the European Union’s model system where a filing is required if a change in the “control” of a target company will occur. However, the Japanese merger control regulations do not use the concept of “control” as the threshold for the filing requirement. Filing is mandatory in certain types of transactions if they meet certain thresholds. This article will provide an overview of the merger control regulations in Japan.

A. Introduction In recent years, the number of cases of hostile takeovers has increased in Japan, and more and more listed companies are trying to introduce, maintain or renew hostile takeover defense measures. Since the spring of 2021, important court decisions have been made on such hostile takeover defense measures, and this article discusses the latest trends in these court decisions.