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Foreign Investment Screening in Japan

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Foreign Investment Screening in Japan

Kojiro Fujii, Noriko Yodogawa, and Marie Wako co-authored a chapter entitled “Foreign Investment Screening in Japan” in YSEC Yearbook of Socio-Economic Constitutions (2020), A Common European Law on Investment Screening (CELIS), (Editors: Steffen Hindelang, Andreas Moberg), published by Springer International Publishing.

Authors

淀川 詔子

Noriko advises various types of clients, from the public and private sectors, in the field of international trade law. Noriko’s strength when advising clients is her ability to maintain an overarching view while duly paying attention to details specific to the case and client. These multifaceted perspectives are based on her experience working for and with various stakeholders in the field.

In particular, Noriko worked in the Appellate Body Secretariat within the WTO (World Trade Organization) Secretariat. The WTO agreements provide the fundamental rules for international trade, and the Appellate Body engages in the dispute settlement proceedings between WTO Members regarding those agreements.

Subsequently, Noriko worked as Legal Counsel to the Energy Charter Secretariat. The Energy Charter Secretariat, located in Brussels, is the secretariat of the Energy Charter Treaty, which is a multilateral trade and investment agreement in the field of energy.

In addition, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Noriko actively participated in the negotiations of multiple EPAs (economic partnership agreements – how the Japanese Government describes comprehensive FTAs (free trade agreements)).

Furthermore, Noriko worked as in-house counsel at the largest steelmaking company in Japan, and in particular, participated in anti-dumping and safeguard investigations conducted by foreign authorities, from the perspective of an exporter.

At N&A, Noriko continues to assist clients in anti-dumping and safeguard investigations abroad. She also frequently advises various clients in relation to the WTO agreements (including involvement in WTO dispute settlement proceedings) and EPAs, as well as relevant domestic laws (such as those on export control, rules of origin and customs classifications).

藤井 康次郎

With regard to competition laws, he advises clients on various matters of competition law for both domestic and international cases. He has represented clients with many important international cartel cases, including auto-parts, TFT-LCD, air cargo and high voltage power cables. He also handled significant merger cases in various industries, such as nuclear, security exchanges, local banks, steel and metals, food and agriculture, airlines, paper and natural resources. His practice also covers private monopolization, unilateral conduct and unfair trade practices, including vertical restraints and abuse of superior bargaining position, including platform business and internet industries. He also has been very active in the field of international trade matters. He is one of few lawyers in Japan who acted on behalf of various industries with regard to anti-dumping (AD) and counter-vailing duties (CVD) in Japan and overseas. While he served as deputy director of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, he handled several important WTO disputes on behalf of Japanese government. He continues to advice both public and private sectors with regard to various sorts of trade law matters associated with WTO, investment treaties and Regional Trade Agreements. His trade expertise also covers export controls, investment screenings, economic sanctions and customs matters.