Department profile
Nishimura & Asahi

Life Sciences

Asia-Pacific Guide 2026 : Japan


Nishimura & Asahi

Rankings

About

Provided by Nishimura & Asahi

Our Life Science and Healthcare Group offers a variety of legal services to domestic and international clients, including advising on issues regarding licensing, approvals, notifications, etc., compliance, risk management raised by non-compliance, defective product recalls, and information management and intellectual property rights in the medical field, healthcare field (including food and beverage fields), and the medicine and medical device fields, based on applicable laws such as the Pharmaceuticals Medical Machinery, etc. Act, the Medical Care Act, the Medical Practitioners Act, the Food Sanitation Act, and the Health Promotion Act.  In addition, our Life Science and Healthcare Group has undertaken various M&A cases, taking advantage of the group’s broad knowledge, and provided strategic advice.  We provide advice on a broad range of cases, including business mergers, joint ventures, acquisitions, and restructuring among pharmaceutical companies and medical device companies.  As one example, we have advised Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., the largest pharmaceutical company in Asia, on its transaction to acquire all of the issued and to-be-issued ordinary share capital of Shire plc, a Jersey-registered and Dublin, Ireland-headquartered global specialty biopharmaceutical company.

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Life Sciences - Japan

Band 2

Band 2


What the Team is Known For

Nishimura & Asahi has a well-established practice assisting an international roster of pharmaceutical and medical device companies, as well as academic institutions and major distributors. The firm is especially known for covering cross-border M&A, joint ventures and restructuring matters, alongside advice on regulatory matters and clinical trials. It ably handles IP rights, licensing and compliance issues in the life sciences space and represents clients in contentious matters such as patent infringement disputes.

Work Highlights

Provided by Chambers

  • Nishimura & Asahi advised GE HealthCare Technologies on its prospective acquisition of a 50% stake in Nihon Medi-Physic.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

  • Nishimura & Asahi provides practical advice on regulations that apply to healthcare firms, based on the attorneys' prior in-house experience. The team has been very prompt and responsive.

    Life Sciences respondentAsia-Pacific
  • Their analysis and examinations are very precise, accurate and prompt, and the output is extremely high level. Responses are always on time.

    Life Sciences respondentAsia-Pacific

Notable Practitioners

Provided by Chambers

  • Band 3Mariko Mimura
    Band 3Mariko Mimura

    Mariko Mimura

    Mariko Mimura leverages her former role for the Japan branch of a major global pharmaceutical company and is well known for her expertise in handling pharmaceutical regulatory matters.
    • Based on her extensive experience at a pharmaceutical company she was able to provide appropriate advice even in complex cases with few precedents.

      Life Sciences respondentAsia-Pacific
    • I am grateful for her opinions that go one step further than other firms in terms of commercial awareness and vision.

      Life Sciences respondentAsia-Pacific
  • Band 4Yoko Kasai
    Band 4Yoko Kasai

    Yoko Kasai

    Yoko Kasai is noted for her legal and regulatory compliance advice on a range of life science transactions, including M&A and the development and commercialisation of new medicines. She also ably advises on novel legal questions arising from health and medical data and online medical services.

    • Yoko Kasai quickly understands the situation of our business and consistently provides realistic proposals.

      Life Sciences respondentAsia-Pacific
  • Up and ComingAlisa Inuzuka
    Up and ComingAlisa Inuzuka

    Alisa Inuzuka

    Alisa Inuzuka is an up-and-coming lawyer with expertise spanning both transactional work and regulatory advice. She assists clients with R&D and clinical trial and medical services agreements, alongside regulatory advice on M&A and advertising in life sciences field.

    • With a deep understanding of our business, she presents options and alternatives to make it easier for us to act, which has led to the acceleration of our business.

      Life Sciences respondentAsia-Pacific
    • She has a wealth of legal knowledge and experience in the field of life sciences legal affairs. Her legal analysis is highly accurate, as is her practical advice from a business perspective.

      Life Sciences respondentAsia-Pacific

Ranked Individuals at Nishimura & Asahi (3)

Japan

Members

Provided by Nishimura & Asahi

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