A ‘go-to firm in Japan for fintech matters’, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune’s practice combines expertise in areas such as financial regulation, information technology and capital markets to advise fintech companies, financial institutions and venture capital clients on areas such as payments, open banking, crypto assets and digital securities.  Practice head Ken Kawai is a leading authority on digital asset regulation, and Shunsuke Aoki is notably active in mandates involving security tokens offerings. Takeshi Nagase’s practice extends to assisting crypto-asset exchanges with registration, while Keisuke Hatano has a focus on payment and settlement-related regulations. Takato Fukui frequently handles mandates with a crypto-asset dimension.

Praised for its ‘longstanding strong connections’ with Japanese regulatory authorities, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto assists domestic and international clients with issues such as the implementation of payment services, the building and operation of exchange platforms for crypto products and regulatory assistance for crowdfunding services. The team also wins plaudits for its handling of digital transformation mandates for financial institutions and financial services intermediation work. Co-head of the practice Masakazu Masujima, a council member of numerous Japanese Government policy committees, is a key contact for mandates involving money transmissions and crypto-assets. Fellow co-head Takane Hori centres her practice on IT and regulated transactions. Atsushi Okada completes the leadership team. Masayuki Ishibashi is embedded in work relating to security token offerings, while Masafumi Masuda is an expert on NFTs. Katsuya Terai is another name to note.

The ‘very strong fintech team’ at Atsumi & Sakai guides financial institutions, start-ups and IT vendors through technologically innovative work in areas including payment services, securities, insurance and data privacy. Also of note is the firm’s establishment of a policy research institute in June 2022 which aims to ‘build bridges between policies and practices in Japan that have not been tackled by either public or private institutions’. The practice is headed up by a trio of partners: Yuri Suzuki, Takafumi Ochiai and Kenichi Tanizaki. Suzuki is well versed in stablecoin legislation, Ochiai’s practice extends to dispute resolution matters in the fintech space, and Tanizaki has in-depth knowledge of banking and finance issues including bank APIs. Osamu Fujiwara leads the firm’s start-up support practice team.

Noted for its ‘cross-departmental collaborations’, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu leverages its longstanding expertise in the field of finance to assist major Japanese banks and financial institutions with fintech work; mobile payments, robotics process automation and blockchain technology stand out as areas of activity for the firm. The team is additionally well placed to advise on business collaborations, joint ventures and acquisitions in the fintech arena. The team is led by Taku Umezawa and Keiji Tonomura, with the former possessing deep experience of financial regulations and the latter described as being ‘at the forefront of creating new DAO laws in Japan’.

Many of Nishimura & Asahi‘s fintech lawyers have experience working for financial institutions or regulatory authorities and bring that experience to bear while advising on fintech issues ranging from crowdfunding, to transactions using applications, to payment services work. Licensing, approvals, and registrations are additional areas of expertise. Practice chair Naoya Ariyoshi is frequently instructed by banks, securities clients and fintech businesses on work including crypto-asset transactions and social trading issues. Susumu Tanizawa is well versed in domestic and international financial regulations. Other key names include structured finance specialist Akihiro Shiba and Toshiyuki Yamamoto, who is well placed to advise on digital securities in the real estate space.

The wide-ranging fintech practice at TMI Associates incorporates expertise from fields including finance, big data and M&A. Recent work has included advice on matters relating to blockchain technology, advice on the issuance of security tokens, and supporting banks in their API licence applications. Leadership duties are split between Takatsugu Kitajima, Arito Ogoshi, Makiko Yamamoto and Haruo Narimoto; Narimoto, who divides his time between Japan and Singapore, is an authority on crowdfunding issues in Japan. At associate level, Mitsune Shirasawa is well versed in advising on the regulatory side of online settlement services.