Partner Shiro Kuniya
Japan (1982)
New York (1987)
Location ： Tokyo Office
and Osaka Office
Practice Areas
Professional Summary
Shiro Kuniya has been highly acclaimed;
Ranked among Nikkei Business Journal’s top ten most highly regarded lawyers in Japan in the areas of “Corporate and M&A” and “International Transaction and Dispute Resolution”.
Listed as Leading Lawyer for M&A in IFLR 2015, for Financial & Corporate Law in IFLR 2017 (International Finance Law Review)
Listed as leading individuals in “Corporate / M&A” section and “Dispute Resolution" section, Chambers Asia Pacific, Asia, Pacific’s Leading Lawyers for Business, (since 2009).
Listed as leading individuals in “Corporate and M&A” section, the Asia Pacific Legal 500 (since 2009).
Listed in Corporate and M&A, International Business Transactions, Litigation, Intellectual Property and Trade section in “Best Lawyers” (since 2008).
“Project Finance of the Year 1999” (Universal Studio Japan Theme Park Project) by Euromoney.
Major Cases Handled
Denso vs. Tax Authority, Japan, Tax Haven Litigation re. Singapore Regional Headquarters (Supreme Court supported Denso and rescinded tax charge)
Livedoor Co., Ltd. vs. Nippon Broadcasting System, Inc., Provisional Injunction against Issuance of the Right to Subscribe to New Shares (Tokyo High Court)
Nireco Corporation, Provisional Injunction against Poison Pill Scheme (Tokyo District Court and Tokyo High Court) (The first case in Japan to invalidate poison pill)
Business Alliance between Nasdaq and Osaka Securities Exchange
Panasonic (f/k/a Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) Pension Fund Cases (Osaka High Court and Supreme Court supported the reform of Pension Program started by the founder, Mr. Konosuke Matsushita)
Establishment and Operation of Universal Studio Japan Theme Park and its Project Finance (Awarded “Project Finance of the Year 1999” by “Euro Money”)
Kansai International Airport Project
Lehman Brothers Japan Civil Rehabilitation
Special Mediation for World Trade Center and Asia Trade Center
Willcom, Inc., Corporate Rehabilitation (the biggest insolvency case in telecommunication industry in Japan)
Kyoto University iPS (imputed pluripotent stem cell) License Agreement
(Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, Professor of Kyoto University, was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research on iPS stem cell.)
Education & Professional Experience
April 2002 - February 2023
Managing Partner, Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners
September 1986 - 2002
Partner, Oh-Ebashi Law Offices
September 1986 - August 1987
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, New York, Los Angeles
1986
Georgetown University Law Center (Master of Law, LL.M.)
April 1982 - August 1986
Associate, Oh-Ebashi Law Offices
1982
Legal Training and Research Institute (Supreme Court), Japan
1980
Kyoto University (LL.B.)
Activities
(1) Bar Association
2019 - 2023
Chairman of Board of Committees on International Affairs and Strategies, Japan Federation of Bar Associations
2011 - 2012
President, Inter-Pacific Bar Association
2009 - 2010
Vice-President, Inter-Pacific Bar Association
2008 - 2012
Chairman of International Relations Committee, Japan Federation of Bar Associations
1995 - 1998
Chairman of Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Committee, Inter-Pacific Bar Association
1987 - 2013
American Bar Association (ABA)
(2) Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
May 2012 - present
Arbitrator, Shanghai International Arbitration Center (SHIAC)
2010 - present
Arbitrator, The Asian International Arbitration Center
June 2009 - present
Member of the Board, The Japan Commercial Arbitration Association
2004 - present
Arbitrator, The Japan Commercial Arbitration Association
1998 - 2006
Arbitrator, Singapore International Arbitration Center
1997 - present
Arbitrator, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center
(3) Board Member/Audit & Supervisory Board Member
June 2021 - present
Member of the Board, TOA Corporation
April 2020 - present
Auditor, CiRA (Center for iPS Cell Research and Application) Foundation, Kyoto University
June 2016 - June 2022
Member of the Board, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
June 2013 - June 2016
Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
June 2013 - June 2021
Member of the Board, Sony Financial Group Inc.
June 2012 - March 2020
Member of the Board, Ebara Corporation
March 2012 - present
Member of the Board, NEXON Co., Ltd.
April 2011 - present
Member of the Board, Japan Century Symphony Orchestra
2006 - 2010
Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Nidec Corporation
1999 - present
Auditor, Tazuke Kofukai Foundation, Medical Research Institute, Kitano Hospital
1997 - 2000
Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Sunstar Inc.
(4) University, Institute & Committee, etc.
2020 - 2024
Member of Advisory Board, Japan International Dispute Resolution Center（JIDRC）
July 2019 - July 2023
President, The Asian Society of International Law (Japan Society)
2015 - 2016
Committee Member to Review International Taxation for Cross-border Business Operation of Japanese Companies/BEPS Project (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
2015 - 2021
Chairman, Corporate Law Practice Research Committee (Research and Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice)
2014
Member of Special Committee to Review Competition Policy and State Aid (Japanese Fair Trade Commission)
2013-
Member of Advisory Board, Business Law Department of Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi University
June 2013 - June 2019
Vice President, The Asian Society of International Law (Japan Society)
2012 - 2021
Member of Georgetown University Law Center, Asian Law Alumni Advisory Board
2008 - 2009
Chairman, Research Grant Program Nomination Committee, The Toyota Foundation
2003 - 2014
Advisor for Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation
2001 - 2002
Member of Management Council, Kyushu University, Faculty of Law
1999
Member of Special Committee of Economic Council for Prime Minister of Japan
1998 - 1999
Institute of Intellectual Property, ADR committee
1995 - 2000
Adjunct Professor at Kyushu University, Faculty of Law (Master of Law, LL.M. Course)
1990 - 2011
The Japan Association of International Economic Law
1987 - 1999
Regular Coordinator and Moderator at Comparative Law Center (Japan) (Programs on International Transactions, Shareholders’ Derivative Suit, Products Liability Law, Entertainment Law, Information Industry Business & Law, etc.)
1982 - 2014
Japanese Association of the Law of Civil Procedure
(5) Third-Party Committee, Special (Investigation) Committee
(Corporate Misconduct, Accounting Irregularity, Data・Personal Information Protection)
Chairman of Special Investigation Committee, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation (2023 - 2024)
Chairman of Third Party Committee, Japan Display Inc. （2019 - 2020）
Chairman of Third Party Committee, Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd. （2019）
Chairman of Special Investigation Committee, Naigai Co., Ltd. （2019）
Chairman of Special Investigation Committee, Sumitomo Precision Products Co., Ltd. （2019 - 2020）
Member of Special Investigation Committee, Kurabo Industries Ltd. (2015)
(TOB、MBO)
Chairman of Special Committee, Sony Financial Group Inc. （TOB）（2020）
Chairman of Third Party Committee, Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd.（TOB）（2012 - 2013）
Chairman of Third Party Committee, Japan Wind Development Co., Ltd. （MBO）（2015）
Chairman of Third Party Committee, Image Holdings Co., Ltd. （MBO）（2010 - 2011）
Chairman of Third Party Committee, VarioSecure Networks，Inc．（MBO）（2009）
Publications Archives
- 2019.12
- International Legal Practice
- 2009.10
- Role of Corporate Counsel
- 2005.01
- Analysis of Legal Risk
- 1992.01
- Joint Venture in Japan
Seminars/Lectures Archives
- 2020.10.06 ～2020.10.13
- 【Online Seminar】In-House Community eCongress Japan
- 2018.07.19
- Crisis Management and Compliance Measures -- Based on the Latest Practices of an American Law Firm
- 2012.05.09
- Amendment of Civil Code
- 2012.04.17
- Amendment of Civil Code
- 1998
- Japan-U.S. Comparison of Bankruptcy and Reorganization Law/Re-start System for Failed Entrepreneurs
- 1991
- OEM Agreement
Awards
The A-List, Japan's Top 100 Lawyers 2024 (Asia Business Law Journal)
2024 Lawyers of the Year in Intellectual Property Law and International Business Transactions by Best Lawyers Japan 2024
Ranked Top 10 Lawyers among the Best Performing Lawyers 2023 (as selected by listed companies) in the “Business and Human Rights” category of the “Corporate Legal Affairs and Lawyer Survey” by Nikkei, Inc.
Ranked Top 10 Lawyers among the Best Performing Lawyers 2022 (as selected by companies and lawyers) in the International Trade and Economic Security category of the “Corporate Legal Affairs and Lawyer Survey” by Nikkei, Inc.
The A-List, Japan's Top 100 Lawyers 2020 (Asia Business Law Journal)
2020 Best Lawyer of the Year in Corporate and M&A for Osaka by Best Lawyers in Japan
Ranked Top 10 Lawyers among the Best Performing Lawyers 2017 (as selected by companies and lawyers) in the International Disputes and Litigation category of the 13th "Corporate Legal Affairs and Lawyer Survey" by Nikkei, Inc.
Listed as Leading Lawyer for M&A in IFLR 2015, for Financial & Corporate Law in IFLR 2017, Highly Regarded Lawyer for M&A and Project Finance in IFLR 2021, Highly Regarded Lawyer for M&A and Project Finance in IFLR 2022 (International Finance Law Review)
Listed as leading individuals in "Corporate/M&A" section and "Dispute Resolution" section, Chambers Asia Pacific, Asia-Pacific's Leading Lawyers for Business, since 2009
Listed as leading individuals in the "Corporate and M&A" section, the Asia Pacific Legal 500, since 2009
Listed in Corporate and M&A, International Business Transactions, Litigation, Intellectual Property and Trade Law section in "Best Lawyers", since 2008
Listed several times since 2000 as "The Ten Best Lawyers in Japan Selected by Listed Companies" in the categories of "Corporate Law, M&A" and "Cross-Border Transactions and Dispute Resolution" (Nikkei Business)
"Project Finance of the Year 1999" award from Euro Money Magazine (for the Universal Studios Japan Project)
Probono
International Cooperation in Legal System (Legislation, Seminar, Lecture) in Asian Countries (eg. Cambodia, Vietnam)
Languages
Japanese and English
