China, Hong Kong and Taiwan
China’s economic position in the world has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. No longer simply a base for low-cost manufacturing, it is now seen both as a manufacturing center with advanced technology and also as an attractive market. Meanwhile, Chinese investments in Japan are also on the rise. As companies have become increasingly globalized, the legal problems faced by companies are not only confined to Japan and China. Often, they extend across national borders into Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other countries in Southeast Asia.
It is difficult to handle cross-border legal issues merely by appointing specialists in each of the countries or regions concerned. For this reason, Kitahama Partners has a China Practice Team, whose main members are attorneys qualified under Japanese law who are fluent in Chinese and English and also attorneys qualified under Chinese law who are fluent in Japanese and English. The China Practice Team mainly handles matters relating to China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In addition, we have a system for working with attorneys in our firm who have a high degree of expertise in the relevant areas of the law on matters in Japan, and with trustworthy local law firms located in other jurisdictions. This enables the team to provide legal services regarding legal matters in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan that take into account the respective differences in language, law, and culture.
Currently, the China Practice Team provides a variety of legal services for clients not only in Japan, but also China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, in areas such as M&A (legal due diligence, drafting of contracts, etc.), establishment and restructuring of local subsidiaries, contract negotiations between companies, dispute resolution, fraud investigations, and administrative matters.
Major Achievements
M&A
- Support as advisor to a Japanese listed company for its investment in the food processing business of a Chinese company.
- Support as advisor to a Chinese company (electrical appliance manufacturer) for its investment in a Japanese company (distributor of electrical appliances, etc.).
- Support as advisor to a Japanese company in the capital restructuring of a subsidiary in Taiwan.
- Represented a Taiwanese listed company in negotiations regarding investment in a Japanese company.
- Support as advisor to a Hong Kong company regarding the acquisition of a resort facility in Japan.
- Support as advisor to a Japanese listed company in contract negotiations between investors related to investment in a Chinese company.
Establishment and Restructuring of Local Subsidiaries
- Support as advisor to a Japanese listed company for the withdrawal of its Chinese subsidiary (machinery parts manufacturer).
- Support as advisor to a Japanese company for the launch of a joint venture project and sole-investment project in China.
- Support as advisor to a Chinese listed company for the withdrawal of its Japanese subsidiary (nursing care business).
- Support as advisor to a Chinese company in the launch of a joint venture project with a Japanese company (entertainment business).
Contract Negotiations Between Companies
- Support and drafting of various contracts and agreements between Japanese companies and Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese companies, such as license agreements, purchase agreements, and distributor agreements.
Dispute Resolution
- In the area of disputes in Japan and China, acted as counsel in Japan and partnered with Chinese counsel to pursue the resolution of a lawsuit filed in both Japan and China.
- In the area of resolution of Japanese companies’ disputes in China, including labor-related matters or debt recovery, partnered with local attorneys to support resolution of the disputes through negotiation and litigation.
- In the area of the resolution of a Japanese company’s trademark dispute in Taiwan, partnered with local attorneys qualified under Taiwanese law to achieve a resolution of the dispute through negotiation.
- Pursued litigation in Japan as representative of a Chinese company.
- Pursued litigation in Japan as representative of a Taiwanese listed company.
Other
- Pursued negotiations with Japanese government authorities as a representative in a trade law dispute between Japan and China.
- Conducted examination of documents and interviews at a Chinese local manufacturing facility for an independent committee’s investigation into a case of region-of-origin falsification by a Japanese company.
- Regarding a product recall by a Japanese company in China, partnered with Chinese attorneys to support resolution through negotiations with administrative authorities.
- Regarding the eviction of the Chinese subsidiary of a Japanese company, partnered with Chinese attorneys to support resolution through negotiations with administrative authorities.
- Investigated fraud inside a Japanese subsidiary as representative of a Chinese company.
- Preparation of legal opinion regarding the current state of subsidiaries, as required by a listed company.