Atsumi & Sakai

In January 2023, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan launched a project team (“AIPT”) on the evolution and implementation of AI, led by Masaki Taira, a member of the House of Representatives, to consider Japan’s AI strategy and policy recommendations. Based on these considerations, AIPT member’s a private proposal for new legal governance in our […]

The Financial Services Agency of Japan recently published a “Report of the Working Group on Capital Market Regulations and Asset Management Task Force of the Financial System Council” (the “Report”), which describes a strategy for improving the capabilities of asset management companies who are playing important roles in managing financial assets and making returns for […]

The concept of calculating the price of stocks without a trading market can be broadly divided into (1) the income approach, which is calculated from what the issuer will generate in the future (earnings, cash flows, dividends, etc.), (2) the market approach, which is calculated from similar stock transactions, and (3) the net asset approach, […]

As international business continues to develop and grow, we are seeing increased interest from foreign investors and companies targeting investments in the Japanese real estate market. When investing in the Japanese real estate market, foreign companies need to understand the structure of real estate funds available. While the real estate fund business in Japan is […]

Overview of the Report of the Working Group on Tender Offer Rules and Large Shareholding Reporting Rules of the Financial System Council The Financial System Council made a decision to review the rules of tender offers and large shareholding reporting on March 2, 2023. Subsequently, the Working Group on Tender Offer Rules and Large Shareholding […]

1.     Litigation system in Taiwan In Taiwan, different litigation systems apply depending on the nature of a particular case. ①     Civil/Criminal Litigation A three-tier court system1, where cases are heard by the District Courts, High Court (and its branches), and Supreme Court, is used for civil and criminal case. ②     Administrative Litigation A two-tier court system2, where cases […]

1.     Taiwan Practice Group Introduction In February 2023, Atsumi & Sakai established a Taiwan Practice Group (the “PG”). The PG plans to regularly publish a newsletter featuring information that we believe will be useful for inbound and outbound matters between Taiwan and Japan. The first issue already was published in English and Chinese (traditional) for overseas […]

This describes recent developments in Japan to encourage the development and use of hydrogen as an energy source, including a summary of the revisions announced on June 6, 2023 to the Basic Hydrogen Strategy (the “New Basic Hydrogen Strategy”) compared to the previous hydrogen strategies, together with a description of some trends we are seeing […]

Towards Responsible AI Deployment Policy Recommendations for the Hiroshima AI Process Takafumi Ochiai, Partner, contributed his feedback, has been published on the website of the Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo. Executive summary Alongside the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly machine learning, generative AI -capable of producing diverse content- has gained […]

Governments have adopted the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) has set a clear goal of “significantly reducing corruption and bribery in all its forms” (Target 16.5)., Tightening regulations against overseas bribery of enterprises. Corruption is structured in some emerging countries, including Vietnam, and if involvement in corruption in those countries is discovered, corporate value may be damaged. […]

New Calculation Method of Damages Introduced to Increase Compensation in Piracy Cases – Amendments to Japan’s Copyright Act in 2024 The Act Partially Amending the Copyright Act (hereinafter, the “Amended Copyright Act” and the Copyright Act before the revision the “Current Copyright Act”) was enacted in May 2023 and is expected to come into effect January […]

table of contents Rules for the use of music in broadcasting Rules for the use of music in Internet distribution Reiwa 3 Revision of the Copyright Act – Facilitation of rights processing for simultaneous distribution Reiwa 5 Revision of the Copyright Act − Facilitation of rights processing even in the case of distribution only Future […]

Efforts to Respect Human Rights in Japan －Publication of the “Reference Material on Practical Approaches for Business Enterprises to Respect Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains” by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (April 2023)－ Note: For easier understanding, sometimes the translation of the related materials does not fully follow the official translation of […]

Creation of Business Growth Security Interests The “Report of the Working Group on the System to Support Business Focused Lending Practices” (the “Report”) has been released by the Working Group on the System to Support Business Focused Lending Practices (the “Working Group”) of the Financial System Council. The business growth security interest proposed in the […]

The first administrative guidance to generative AI platform and Alerts regarding the use of generative AI services issued by PPC The Japanese Personal Information Protection Commission (“PPC”) has issued administrative guidance regarding the protection of personal information by generative AI platforms. On June 1, 2023, the guidance was issued to OpenAI, L.L.C. and openAI OpCo, […]

Since 2021, there have been active policy discussions in Japan regarding the protection of content in the metaverse, a virtual three-dimensional space on the Internet where many people can participate simultaneously, control their avatars, act freely, and interact with other participants. These policy discussions assume that the metaverse will expand over time, and that it […]

The “Project Team on Evolution and Implementation of AI” of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, of which Hiroyuki Sanbe, Partner, is a worikng group member, published a white paper titled “AI White Paper – Japan’s National Strategy in the New Age of AI (Draft)” including recommendations made by Mr. Sanbe’s working group. The full text and […]

1. Opening Remarks There has been a recent increase in news of Taiwanese companies entering the Japanese market, such as stories of a major Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer building a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Japan and a major Taiwanese bank opening its second branch in Japan in Fukuoka. Fukuoka City is among the growing cities in […]

Introduction In the Sixth Strategic Energy Plan, published by the Japanese Government in October 2021, targets are set to (a) achieve carbon neutrality by 2050; (b) increase the share of renewables as part of Japan’s total electricity generation to 36-38% by 2030 (including 19-21% from solar and wind) compared to an 18% share in 2019; and […]

Second Interim Restructuring and Interim Report of the Customer-Oriented Task Force of the Market System Working Group of the Financial Services Council The Financial Services Council’s Market System Working Group Customer-Oriented Task Force (hereinafter referred to as the “Customer-Oriented TF”) The Interim Report of the Customer-Oriented Task Force of the Market System Working Group of […]

Introduction 2022 saw the following legislative changes affecting the Fintech industry in Japan: – The first legislation on stablecoins. – Money laundering regulations were tightened through (i) a new form of licence, the “fund transfer transaction analysis business”, which applies to bodies operating money laundering monitoring systems, and (ii) issuers of electronic money, significant amounts […]

With the rapid advance of digitalization, companies are now processing personal information outside of Japan. However, many users are not aware that their personal information collected in connection with these services is processed outside of Japan. There are also cases where companies providing such services are not apprised in relation to processing of data under […]

Latest CCS Commercialization Trends in Japan 1.      Recent CCS trends in Japan In recent years, the Japanese Government has been promoting Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) projects as part of its stated aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. So far there has only been one CCS project in Japan, a demonstration project located in […]

1. Trends in syndicated loans The value of syndicated loans in Japan has been increasing in much the same way as in other countries. For borrowers, syndicated loans are large and flexible funding vehicles, and for lenders it is a business with a controlled credit risk, and which generates a high loan margin income. For […]

Duty to Record working hours We would like to inform you about the new obligation for employers to record their employee’s working time due to the judgement of the German Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht- “BAG”) of September 13th 2022 Following a ruling of the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) from May the 14th 2019 , […]

On November 1, Reiwa, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) partially revised the “Comprehensive Guidelines for Small and Medium-sized Financial Institutions and Regional Financial Institutions,” “Comprehensive Guidelines for Major Banks,” “Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Affiliated Financial Institutions,” and “Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Fishery Cooperative Credit Businesses” (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Revised Bills”). […]

“Legal and ethical frameworks of artificial intelligence in the U.S., EU and China: companies, research institutes and the like in Japan will need to be prepared” “Legal and ethical frameworks of artificial intelligence in the U.S., EU and China: companies, research institutes and the like in Japan will need to be prepared,” authored in Japanese […]

The Financial Services Agency issued an Ordinance of the Cabinet Office (Cabinet Office Ordinance No. 53 of Reiwa 4, hereinafter referred to as the “Revised Cabinet Ordinance”) that partially amends the Cabinet Office Ordinance on the definitions stipulated in Article 2 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act dated September 12, Reiwa. was promulgated. The […]

On March 4,2022, the Financial Services Agency of Japan submitted a bill, amending the Payment Services Act and other laws relating to electronic payments, to the National Diet of Japan. The provisions under this amendment bill include a new regulatory framework for stablecoins overseas, and associated issues such as protection of users. If the bill […]

Opening Remarks Even during the COVID pandemic, interest in the Vietnamese market has remained strong among Japanese companies. Many Japanese companies considering entering the market are eyeing active cooperation with local companies, with the goal of gaining efficiency by leveraging their existing local networks and licenses. From a Vietnamese viewpoint, many companies are experiencing a […]