Nishimura & Asahi is one of the leading Japanese law firms. The firm was originally founded in 1966 as Nishimura & Partners before adopting its current name following the acquisition in 2007 of the Kokusai Bumon (International Division) of Asahi Law Offices.

The firm is among the four largest in the Japanese market with more than 800 professionals and a presence in over 19 locations around the world, including domestic offices in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and overseas offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, New York, Singapore, Taipei and Yangon. The firm is also present in Jakarta and Hong Kong and is a member of international law firm network, Lex Mundi.

Highlights

Nishimura & Asahi have a high reputation across the board in transactional work. It has the largest asset finance practice in the country and acts for both lenders and borrowers in acquisition finance. It also routinely picks up the best mandates available to the market in M&A, projects, private equity and capital markets.

In the past year, the capital markets team continued to advise debt and equity capital market transactions, handles securitization across asset classes, provides derivatives legal services, advises on new securitization rules, and engages in market and public education.

In M&A and private equity, highlights include advising on the $16 million Toshiba take-over and advising Dai-ichi Life Holdings on a $2 billion tender offer to acquire Benefit One Inc.

In the project area, the firm advised on various renewable energy projects, including solar, wind, and biomass, as well as LNG carriers and battery energy storage systems for both domestic and international clients.

In 2024, the firm announced six internal promotions of partners including Toshihito Yasaki, Takefumi Suzuki, Satoru Yoshikawa, Suguru Sato, Ippei Hayakawa, and Sanshiro Kubota.