The deep bench at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP includes practice heads Carol Tsuchida and Tomoko Fuminaga, who lead the team which collaborates with the firm’s global investment management practice, which fields practitioners across the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The group’s diverse workload includes assisting clients with establishing, operating, registering and licensing investment funds and acting for fund-related investment intermediaries in Japan. Christopher Wells departed from the firm in September 2022, followed by the departure of Kyoko Nagano in October 2023.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is a go-to firm for fund formations in Japan and the rest of Asia, leveraging its long-standing presence in the region. Team co-leader David Azcue in Tokyo has a strong track record of advising clients on private fund formations and fund raisings in Japan. As a group, practitioners are instructed by major Japanese tax advisers which are active in fund formation projects, and the group also works closely with the firm's Hong Kong-based funds team on cross-jurisdictional work. Other key team members include associates Mai Kristofferson and Lily Rasel; Rasel assists private equity, venture capital and real estate fund sponsors with structuring and regulatory issues.

Located in Tokyo, A&O Shearman’s asset management and fund formation practice in Japan concentrates on handling fund formations involving Japan-focused funds or Japan-based funds, assisting with private fund investments, and advising investment management companies on regulatory issues. Standout recent mandates for the group, led by Etienne Gelencsér, include high-value work involving offshore fund structuring issues and fundraisings. The practice's client base features large banks, such as the Development Bank of Japan, and asset management companies.

The Linklaters investment funds team has a broad practice which regularly undertakes work of a cross-border nature, and ‘stands out because of its ability to handle a mix of fund formation, as well as fund-related transactional mandates’. The team is instructed by large multinational clients including SoftBank Group. Since publication, the team lost Eriko Sakata and Sayako Shiraki to White & Case LLP - White & Case Law Offices (Registered Association) in May 2024.

Withers Japan, Zeirishi Houjin‘s dedicated investment funds group concentrates on assisting domestic and international investment managers and financial institutions with complex matters involving Japan financial laws and regulatory issues relating to running businesses in Japan. Koji Yamamoto and Yoshiyuki Omori, who jointly head up the team, undertake a diverse workload including acting as local counsel on open and closed-ended funds, and often provide related tax assistance, as well as advice on fund formations and financial instruments dealer registrations.