Team size: 15
What are the most significant cases or transactions that you have been involved in over the past year?

In the past year, my team and I worked on several M&A deals that are of strategic importance for the SEGA SAMMY Group, including acquisition in the gaming sector and sale of resort business. The team also assisted Group companies in several successful acquisitions and reorganisations, both domestic and international.

What innovations have you made to the way your legal team works in the past year?
I have led the team in implementing several creative and proactive initiatives to enhance legal awareness and foster a strong legal mindset across the Group’s legal function, leadership, and all company personnel. These efforts have been carried out through various internal communication channels, including:
1. “Kisoken!” Legal Analysis Articles – A series providing insights to support business innovation by offering legal research, analysis, and reviews of laws and regulations in emerging areas such as AI, the metaverse, data privacy, profiling regulations, ticket resales, and non-compete clauses.
2. Monthly “LIP (Legal and IP) Newsletter” – A newsletter shared on the intranet, offering updates on new laws and regulatory revisions that impact the Group’s business, with the goal of increasing legal awareness and engagement across the company.
3. Monthly “The Brief” Bulletin – A concise and easy-to-read legal update, designed to provide the Group’s legal teams and leads with the latest developments in legal matters, ensuring they stay informed at a glance.
Which political, economic or regulatory changes have impacted your work the most in the past year?
In 2023, several new enactments and revisions, including the Telecommunications Business Law, Stealth Marketing Regulations, the introduction of the new invoice system, the Consumer Contract Law, the Labor Standards Law, and the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law, required the Group companies to take actions to ensure compliance.
To support the legal teams and leads in meeting these requirements, we organised and conducted various training sessions, prepared and distributed FAQs, templates, and other useful tools, and provided ongoing consultation services. These efforts resulted in the successful preparation and implementation of compliance measures across all Group companies.
We are continuing this initiative for upcoming 2024 regulations, including the “Guidelines for Price Negotiations for Appropriate Shifting of Labor Costs,” the “Act on the Propriety of Transactions between Freelancers and Business Operators,” and other relevant laws.
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Apart from legal matters, has the team worked on other company initiatives you would like to highlight?
The team actively contributed to strengthening the external legal network and community by hosting and organizing study group events for the INCA (International Corporate Counsel Association) at the SEGA SAMMY Osaki Head Office. Additionally, we collaborated with NHK on an educational program aimed at helping working adults better understand business terms. Through interviews and providing examples of troubleshooting, practice improvements, and value-adding initiatives from our legal function, we worked to raise social awareness of legal roles and terminology. Currently, the team is collaborating with Jissen Women’s University to develop a course for the university’s Social Collaboration program, which will be offered in 2024.