Kazutoshi Kakuyama, Hideki Thurgood Kanoh, Yukiko Imazu, Junichi Ueda and Kensuke Otsuki jointly lead Anderson Mori & Tomotsune‘s dedicated labour and employment team, which ‘provides the best advice for companies in light of laws and judicial precedents‘. The group is notably active across transactional and contentious work, and is particularly highlighted for its expertise in wrongful dismissal claims and the related compensation issues. Ueda is recommended for transactional work, assisting both domestic and global clients, while Nobuhito Sawasaki is a key name to note for contentious matters.

The group at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto fields ‘many excellent lawyers who have a lot of specialities and cover a wide range of employment issues‘. These include the group co-heads; litigators Chisako Takaya and Taichi Arai, and Yoshikazu Abe, who is prised for his ‘wealth of experience and knowledge of labour matters’. Elsewhere, Shiho Ono is known for representing corporations in labour related dispute resolution and is described by one client as ‘an outstanding Japanese employment lawyer, providing excellent practical advice’. The group also has a strong international presence, including a presence across East Asia, which it leverages on cross-border work. Fumiko Hama was promoted to the partnership in 2023.

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu‘s group in Tokyo, which has ‘an excellent understanding of the needs of US companies‘, often advises members of global company management as well as domestic companies. Norimitsu Arai has a long history of acting in union-related matters, litigation and transactional work, while practice head Hisaya Kimura is well supported by Eriko Ogata, who has a great deal of experience handling investigations conducted by labour authorities. Satoshi Hosokawa is a go-to team member for contentious labour and employment matters and harassment investigations.

The employment group at Nishimura & Asahi leverages the firm's wider expertise to work in a cross-disciplinary manner, and is particularly noted for its litigation experience, where it is active in cases including Court of Appeal claims. The full-service offering also includes advising clients on new developments in Japanese employment law, transactional issues and compliance work. Yuri Sugano and Jiro Abe are the duo leading the team; Sugano primarily focuses on layoffs arising from insolvencies and restructurings, while Abe has a strong track record of assisting clients with matters running the gamut of labour and employment law, including trade union negotiations.

Mie Fujimoto, Motoi Fujii and Keisuke Kondo head up TMI Associates‘ large labour and employment practice group; Kondo and Fujii represent clients in a range of litigation, while Fujimoto also handles the employment aspects of corporate transactions. The wider group handles the full range of employment mandates for a variety of Japanese and international clients, leveraging its network of offices. Rie Taiko is a key contact for clients in the retail, staffing, manufacturing, IT and transportation sectors, while Seiji Kurihara provides advice in relation to personnel systems and transfers.

A feature of City-Yuwa Partners‘ practice is its sector breadth, acting for a variety of corporate clients across the banking, retail, transportation and hospitality industries. Forming part of a group fielding ‘lawyers with diverse backgrounds and a wide range of expertise‘, litigator Noriko Higashizawa runs the team alongside Akira Nagasaki, who is praised for giving ‘balanced advice while clarifying the potential risks of each case’. Kosuke Hasegawa is also a key name to note in the team, especially for mergers and acquisitions with labour law elements.

Practitioners at Vanguard Lawyers Tokyo are experienced in labour and employment law matters. and display ‘a good understanding of the financial landscape in Japan’. More broadly, the group is also noted for being ‘particularly focused on labour law in general’, advising on the full scope of employment work and ‘strips away the legalese to provide workable commercial solutions’. Practice head Akiko Yamakawa ‘demonstrates skilled litigation assistance based on many years of experience in this field’ and Kazuki Okada has represented unions and employees in disputes. Masahiko Kinoshita is the key name to note at associate level.

Tatsuo Yamashima and Emi Uchida jointly lead Atsumi & Sakai‘s team, which assists an array of long-standing clients with the full spectrum of labour and employment law matters including labour procedures, employment agreements, directors and officer’s service contracts, and work rule issues. For contentious work, clients rely on Yamashima and Hisashi Miyatsuka. The group also offers immigration expertise and utilises the knowledge present in the firm's wider regulatory and tax groups to assists with employee benefit issues.

The full-service team at Miura & Partners utilises the varied experience of its team members to handle a broad spectrum of employment issues including advising on internal policies, employment litigation and labour regulations. Tsuyoshi Omura leads the practice, with recent work including assisting with daily operation issues, internal codes and collective bargaining matters; and Hiroto Sugahara primarily focuses on employment litigation.

Ushijima & Partners‘ practitioners are well placed to deal with the full range of labour and employment matters, including employment litigation, negotiations and investigations. Leading the group is Rikisuke Yamanaka, who ‘is very professional and has a lot of experience’ and handles an array of labour law issues. The team often works with international clients, and is praised for being ‘very responsive, sensitive to and familiar with global business needs and norms’ as well as ‘helpful in explaining unique aspects of Japanese law and culture to global management’.

Masatoshi Yokogi and Koji Kameda head up Yokogi & Masui Partners‘ team, which is known for its ‘clear focus on labour law and a steady accumulation of specialist knowledge and experience in this area’. Yokogi is highlighted as a ‘ professional, trustworthy, and sincere lawyer‘ and acts for a roster of domestic and global companies. The group’s strong knowledge of judicial precedents means that it is well placed to assist clients with day-to-day labour and employment issues.