Eiji Yamahara (Mr.) – advising clients on legal issues from various perspectives.
Since being admitted to the bar of Japan in 1992, he has worked in domestic and international law firms, as well as a major US investment bank and a leading Japanese trading and investment firm (Sogo-Shosha) as in-house counsel. Registered with the Tokyo Bar Association (former Chairman of its International Committee). Registered as Maritime Counsel to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Member of the Japan Association of Arbitrators (JAA: htttps://en.arbitrators.jp). Established his own law firm named Oh-Unabara Kokusai Horitsu Jimusho, expressing “Studio Legale EYTOKIO” in English, in 2023, near Mitsukosi Department Store at Nishonbashi, Tokyo.
He holds LLM degrees from the University of London (1997) and the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law (2008). Traineeships at Clifford Chance in London and Carlsmith Ball in Honolulu.
In the area of project work, he has experience in traditional coal-fired power generation and has provided documentation advice on such as investment agreements, shareholders’ agreements, EPC(I) and O&M agreements for domestic and foreign solar power generation, onshore and offshore wind power generation, and offshore deepwater energy development projects.
In the area of maritime and shipping law, he handles documentation, litigation and arbitration matters relating to charterparties, ship sales, shipbuilding, technology licensing agreements, legal issues relating to commercial documents such as letters of credit and bills of lading, maritime insolvency cases and ship arrest cases. He has recently represented claimants in petitions to TOMAC (Tokyo Maritime Arbitration Commission), the oldest arbitration institution of Japan (Rule and Model Clause: https://www.jseinc.org/en/tomac/index.html). For lawyers and in-house traning, he conducted a session on INCOTERMS®2020.
In finance, he has advised on a wide range of financing matters including syndicated loans, asset finance, derivatives, aircraft and ship finance. Recent clients include a leading regional banking group which he regularly advises on a variety of matters. He has also provided a wide range of corporate services to various companies. For example, he recently led a company’s “flash reports” and “firm reports” under Japan’s revised Personal Information Protection Act.
He has helped foreign investors investment in Japan. In the past, he has provided foreign investors with legal memoranda and due diligence reports on the interpretation of Japanese law. For example, he recently submitted a legal memorandum to a European contarctor, based on discussions with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, on the interpretation of Article 3 of the Ship Law of Japan (equivalent to the US Jones Act), which is problematic – cabotage – when using foreign-flagged vessels for the construction of offshore wind turbines off Akita Prefecture. In order for a Chinese company to clear the listing examination by a Chinese securities house, he conducted a diligence on the Japanese subsidiary, submitted a DD report to the underwriter.
Recent hot topics include advising directors and employees of Japanese companies from a legal perspective (in cooperation with US and Chinese lawyers) in the difficult situation caused by the US-China conflict, and advising on the formulation of internal regulations regarding AI generated by ChatGPT and other means. He provides guidance on recent amendments to the law – for example, on 1 April 2024, the amended Japanese Arbitration Law will come into force, and the parties concerned will be able to seek a decision from a Japanese court to order enforcement of an interim temporary preservative/restraining order issued by the arbitral tribunal, in general.
From time to time, he works with other experts. For example, he recently assisted lawyers from Miyake Imai Ikeda Law Office, one of Japan’s leading law firms with a strong reputation in the insolvency sector, in dealing with assets relating to the United Ocean Group insolvency case. He also works with local counsel in other countries, as required, for clients with factories in Thailand, for example, and operations in China, India and Singapore.
(revised on 27 January 2024)