Tokyo Office
Practice:
- Energy & Infrastructure Sector
- Renewable Energy
- Infrastructure
- Energy
- Japan
Minako Wakabayashi Partner
Tokyo
Minako has significant experience advising international and domestic sponsors and developers on complex and innovative projects. She was called upon by the Japanese government in structuring the renewable Feed-in-Tariff scheme in Japan and prepared the government’s model contracts for specific contracts (power purchase contract/interconnection contract), which are a key component of the Feed-in-Tariff scheme in Japan. Recently, she has also been handling numerous corporate PPA projects.
She was appointed as Auditor of the Japan Wind Power Association (JWPA) in May 2022.
Minako practiced at Orrick’s New York office in 2004-2005. She also worked as a public prosecutor in Japan for four years and served as a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Supervising Committee for Public Bidding (Tokyo-to Nyusatsu Kanshi Iinkai) for eight years. She is serving as Audit of Veritas In Silico Inc since March 2022.
Practice:
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Technology Companies Group
- Fintech
Hiroki Sugita Partner
Tokyo
He also has extensive experience in fund formation, real estate and various types of finance transactions.
Hiroki has a deep understanding of clients’ needs from his secondment experience with a U.S. investment bank in 2005 and a Japanese major trading house from 2012 to 2014.
Prior to joining Orrick, Hiroki worked at O’Melveny’s Tokyo office as a counsel where he mainly worked on cross border M&A.
Practice:
- Employment Law & Litigation
- Executive Compensation
- Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- International Trade and Investment
- Japan
- Pay Equity
Yumiko Ohta Partner
Tokyo
Yumiko also has knowledge related to international trade such as customs rules and export controls.
Before joining Orrick, Yumiko was an associate at Tanabe & Partners and advised clients in corporate transactions and employment law as well as represented clients in civil and family cases. She has experience serving as a statutory auditor for Japanese corporations. Prior to practicing law, she worked at Mitsubishi Corporation for seven years. While there, she was involved in LNG projects and other global business.
Practice:
- Energy & Infrastructure Sector
- Renewable Energy
- Infrastructure
- Energy
- Solar Energy
- Wind Energy
- Real Estate
- Real Estate
- Japan
Yuko Inui Partner
Tokyo
As of April 2024, Yuko has conducted legal due diligence for clients on 54 solar projects (total 1692MW) and 30 wind projects (total 2257MW) in Japan, including Japan’s largest solar project (235MW) and Japan’s largest wind project (121.6MW).
Yuko has been appointed as special member of the Environmental Preservation Committee of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations every year since 2006.
In 2024, Yuko was recognized as Next Generation Partner for Japan in Projects and Energy: International Firms and Joint Ventures category by Legal 500 Asia Pacific.
John Inge Counsel, Intellectual Property, Japan
Tokyo; Washington, D.C.
Practice:
- Technology & Innovation Sector
- Intellectual Property
- Japan
John Inge Counsel
Tokyo; Washington, D.C.
John has experience handling matters involving a wide range of technologies, including semiconductor devices, consumer electronics, communications systems, computers and associated equipment, radar, optics (including fiber optics), medical and surgical devices, display systems, lighting devices, printing systems, electronic photography, energy storage devices and plastic molding technology.
John's legal practice spans patent litigation, interferences, validity and infringement investigations, and negotiations and licensing involving all aspects of intellectual property. Joint venture and research and development agreements in an international context are a particular area of his focus. He frequently counsels clients in both the United States and Japan on patent portfolio management and intellectual property strategies.
John currently teaches a course on International Intellectual Property Strategy at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. He previously served on the adjunct faculty of George Mason University School of Law, teaching courses on interference practice and other advanced areas of U.S. PTO practice. He also taught international intellectual property law at Temple University Law School’s Tokyo campus. He also was the longest-serving chairman of the Board of Directors of Yokohama International School, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious institutions of secondary international education, and he currently chairs the school’s Board of Trustees. John regularly lectures throughout the Pacific Rim on intellectual property law topics. He is also a frequent lecturer on U.S. patent practice at public and in-house seminars in Japan.
Practice:
- Energy & Infrastructure Sector
- Energy
- Infrastructure
- Renewable Energy
- Real Estate
- Japan
Andrew Hughes Of Counsel
Tokyo
Andrew also has significant experience advising on sophisticated real estate and asset finance transactions involving global opportunity funds, banks and other financial institutions.
Prior to joining Orrick’s Energy and Infrastructure Group, Andrew was an in-house counsel at GREE Inc. and Electronic Arts where he gained experience in various corporate and commercial transactions, including joint ventures, cross-border M&A and general corporate matters.
Practice:
- Energy & Infrastructure Sector
- Renewable Energy
- Infrastructure
- Energy
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Real Estate
- Japan
Kentaro Shoji Of Counsel
Tokyo
He mainly works on project contracts, including EPC, BOP, O&M contracts and various supply contracts such as TSA. He acquired of great understanding of clients’ needs after a secondment at a Japanese major trading house.
He also has experience advising domestic and overseas financial institutions, real estate funds, real estate developers and other companies on sophisticated real estate and asset finance transactions.
Prior to joining Orrick’s Tokyo Office, Kentaro worked in the Tokyo office of another international law firm where he engaged in cross-border M&A, finance transactions and dispute resolution.
Practice:
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Energy
- Japan
Kane Huang Senior Associate
Tokyo
Kane advises U.S., and Japanese companies on cross-border M&A, joint venture, strategic investments, technology licensing, and energy related transactions, as well as compliance, corporate governance, and general corporate matters.
In addition to transactions between U.S., and Japanese companies, Kane works on a variety of multijurisdictional transactions involving entities and assets in Asia and Europe.
Kane has gained client-side experience from his secondments to a U.S. and Japan joint venture appliances company from 2015 to 2016, a Japan subsidiary of a U.S. based elevator and escalator company in 2016, and a Japan electric utility company from 2019 to 2020.
Kane worked at Orrick’s Silicon Valley office from 2010 to 2012, where he focused on technology sector M&A.
Anri Nakamoto Of Counsel, Intellectual Property, Patents
Tokyo; Washington, D.C.
Practice:
- Intellectual Property
- Patents
- IP Counseling & Due Diligence
- Trade Secrets Litigation
Anri Nakamoto Of Counsel
Tokyo; Washington, D.C.
His practice focuses on representing Japanese companies in patent litigation, trade secret litigation and other intellectual property disputes. Anri also counsels clients on patent portfolio management, intellectual property strategies, adversarial patent licensing negotiations and other IP-related matters in cross-border M&A and strategic business and technology alliances.
Prior to joining Orrick, Anri worked for more than 10 years at Hitachi Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, and a Japanese sovereign patent fund management company where he gained hands-on experience in patent prosecutions, sales and purchase transactions of patent portfolios, adversarial patent licensing negotiations and litigation.
Practice:
- Energy & Infrastructure Sector
- Energy
- Infrastructure
- Renewable Energy
- Japan
Gohshun Kawamura Senior Associate
Tokyo
He focuses on the development, acquisition and financing of solar, wind and other renewable energy projects in various regions of Japan. He has experience related to the FIT/FIP system and other laws and regulations related to the electric power industry, as well as negotiations with relevant government agencies, and the preparation and negotiations of related contracts.
In addition, he is involved in establishing schemes and negotiating contracts for the corporate PPAs of non-FIT renewable energy projects, as well as preparing on-site PPAs and general terms and conditions for electricity retailers.
He is the co-author of Orrick’s “Japan Renewables Alert".
Prior to joining Orrick Tokyo Office, he was an assistant judge at the Tokyo District Court and the Matsuyama District Court, where he gained experiences in a variety of cases, including civil, administrative and criminal matters.
Practice:
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Renewable Energy
- Infrastructure
- Japan
Naoyuki Fukuda Associate
Tokyo
He mainly works on the development and financing of renewable energy projects as well as general corporate matters.
Prior to joining Orrick, he worked for an international law firm and a Japanese company where he engaged in M&A, structured finance and renewable energy transactions.
Practice:
- Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution
- Employment Law & Litigation
- Antitrust & Competition
- Antitrust & Competition
- Japan
Kazuya Takeda Associate
Tokyo
He focuses on dispute resolution, civil and commercial disputes, labor and employment, compliance and antitrust related matters. He also has experience in general corporate legal affairs.
Before joining Orrick, he worked for Kasame & Associates Co., Ltd. located in Thailand and provided Japanese corporate clients with a variety of legal services regarding Thai laws, including the Personal Data Protection Act, Labour Protection Act, Civil and Commercial Code, Trademark Act, Foreign Business Act, etc. for over two years. Prior to working in Thailand, he was an associate at Okamura Law Office and mainly handled civil litigations, general corporate cases, and trade competition law cases for about three years.
Practice:
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- Japan
Kento Hayakawa Associate
Tokyo
Kento regularly works with both international and Japanese clients in a variety of cross-border transactions. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, and general corporate matters.
Prior to joining Orrick, Kento worked for a holding company where he gained experience in various commercial transactions and general corporate matters.