The team at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune is jointly led by Hideyuki Sakai, Hiroyasu Ueda, Fujiaki Mimura, and Zentaro Nihei. The group is regularly involved in large-scale restructuring and insolvency cases in Japan, acting for major banks, hedge funds and insurance companies. Taro Awataguchi represents both creditors and sponsors in out-of-court restructurings, as well as in corporate reorganisations and civil rehabilitation cases. Mimura handles the full range of restructuring and insolvency matters, including bankruptcy and voluntary liquidations. The team assists an extensive and lucrative client base, with Satoshi Ogino representing debtors. Nihei also adds to the team’s cross-border capabilities, advising overseas funds, along with Ueda, who handles cross-border restructuring matters, and Masaki Fujita, who represents debtors, lenders and investors in cross-border matters.

Maintaining its established position in the market, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto has experienced growth in the number of in out-of-court cases it handles, with the restructuring and insolvency team provides its clients with out-of-court workouts and pre-packaged reorganisations. The practice advises on the full range of Japanese bankruptcy and reorganisation proceedings, spanning a variety of sectors and jurisdictions. Practice co-head Takahiro Inou is often involved in cross-border insolvency cases across Asia. Inou leads the team alongside Ryota Yamasaki and Soichiro Fujiwara, who are both restructuring, litigation and M&A specialists. The group acts for a diverse client list which includes debtors, creditors and financial advisors, as well as financially distressed or insolvent clients. Dai Katagiri regularly advises domestic and foreign clients, taking a lead role in a number of the team’s restructuring and bankruptcy cases.

Nobuaki Kobayashi co-leads the team at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, which maintains a stellar reputation in the workout and turnaround market, with the team regularly advising on out-of-court matters. The group also draws on its cross-practice experience, such as its experience in technology-related matters, having advised on the civil rehabilitation proceedings of cryptocurrency exchange MtGox. The practice continues to advise an increasingly diverse number of clients on both the debtor and sponsor side, as well as major banks and financial institutions. Kobayashi has expansive experience in acting in high-profile proceedings such as large-scale corporate reorganisations, as well as in out-of-court workouts both in Japan and overseas, and practice co-head Yosuke Kanegae represents numerous listed companies in out-of-court restructuring cases. The team displays strong cross-border capabilities, with Takashi Suzuki and Tomohiro Okawa handling a broad range of global restructuring cases.

Displaying deep bench strength in handling cross-border mandates, the team at Nishimura & Asahi handles multi-jurisdictional workouts and international restructuring matters, which are particular areas of focus for Yuri Sugano. Beyond traditional insolvency proceedings and significant bankruptcy cases within Japan, practice head Kenichi Minami is noted for his deep knowledge of in out-of-court workouts and turnarounds. Kentaro Yokoyama also has extensive experience in handling both in-and out-of-court reorganisations. The group is known for representing a variety of debtors, also counting major banks, financial institutions and creditors among its clients. The team draws on the varied expertise of its members to further strengthen its offering; Hajime Ueno is an expert in structured finance; Daisuke Koriya displays vast knowledge of accounting and tax issues; and Yonson Minami advises on M&A aspects of restructurings.

The restructuring and insolvency team at Abe, Ikubo & Katayama has broad corporate expertise, handling the full gamut of bankruptcy matters, including significant insolvency cases in Japan, in addition to cross-border restructuring mandates. Practice co-head Eiji Katayama handles corporate reorganisations, and Kazuyuki Taguchi has experience in advising on the turnaround of corporate businesses. Hisashi Ito acts in an array of civil rehabilitation cases and liquidations on behalf of various companies. Business rehabilitation is also an area of focus for Hirofumi Kato, whose practice consists of legal and voluntary liquidation mandates. The firm’s disputes practice covers both in- and out-of-court cases, and Rikita Karakawa contributes her broad experience of negotiation and litigation in out-of-court private rehabilitations.

Active in both domestic and cross-border insolvency proceedings, civil rehabilitations, and corporate reorganisations, the restructuring and insolvency team at Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners, led by Takayuki Maruyama and Naoki Kondo, advises debtors, creditors, sponsors and lenders across a range of sectors. The group is noted for its extensive experience in out-of-court turnaround procedures, with Tomohiro Kitano heading the team from Osaka, primarily handling domestic insolvency and reorganisation matters. The Tokyo office maintains its focus on cross-border insolvency cases, with So Miyamoto contributing his longstanding experience in both domestic and global insolvency matters, while Hirotake Tanaka is known for handling bankruptcy proceedings. Alternative dispute resolution continues to be one of the team’s primary areas of strength, being an area which Takashi Matsunaga has expansive knowledge.