East Asia - Japan

Morrison Foerster

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The capital markets group at Morrison Foerster is headed by Fuyuo Mitomi, Mitsutoshi Uchida, and Jesse Gillespie, frequently handling cross-border mandates for large financial institutions and underwriters. The group is particularly experienced in advising on mandates within the US high-yield debt space, with work involving US disclosure rules, derivative matters, investment-grade offerings, and SEC-registered transactions. Key contacts in the team also include Akihiro Wani, associate Naoko Ueda, and of counsels Reiko Omachi and Hiroki Etani. Associate TJ Park is rated by clients as 'one of the best in the industry'. Ex-head of the team Kenji Hosokawa left the practice for an in-house position in 2022.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘What I found most impressive was that they were able to draft the necessary documents, including the prospectus, from their vast database in an appropriate and timely manner, and their attitude was very sincere in doing so.’
  • ‘Naoko Ueda has demonstrated his expertise, particularly in Europe, from his career at the FSA, and I believe that he has pioneered the industry standard for continuous disclosure, mainly surrounding SFDR.’
  • ‘Jesse Gillespie has extensive experience in debt capital markets in Asia, and based on this experience, he is able to provide advice that takes into account not only the legal aspects but also the commercial aspects.’
  • 'TJ Park is one of the best in the industry in terms of the number of J-REIT's global financing that has been executed in recent years, and has helped us incorporate the latest industry trends into our deals.'

Key clients

  • SoftBank Group Corp.
  • Nomura Securities
  • Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd.
  • CRE Logistics REIT, Inc.
  • SMBC Nikko Securities
  • Mizuho Securities
  • Japan Bank for International Cooperation
  • Nippon Prologis REIT, Inc.
  • Barclays Bank PLC
  • GLP J REIT

Work highlights

  • Represented SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. and Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd. as underwriters in connection with CRE Logistics REIT, Inc.’s approximately JPY 10.3bn global offering.
  • Represented SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., Ltd., Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd. and Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd. as underwriters in Industrial & Infrastructure Fund Investment Corporation’s approximately JPY 6bn global offering.
  • Represented Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd., Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. and Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd. as underwriters in Kenedix Retail REIT Corporation’s approximately JPY 5.1bn global offering.

Lawyers

Leading individuals: Bengoshi

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Fuyuo Mitomi, Mitsutoshi Uchida, Jesse Gillespie

Other key lawyers

Akihiro Wani, Naoko Ueda, Reiko Omachi, Hiroki Etani, TJ Park