Partner-led, dual-qualified, and productized — three named retainer tiers, a 90-day market-entry sprint, and a 24-hour Employment Crisis Response add-on. Designed for foreign multinationals running Japan operations who need a senior bilingual counsel they can keep on speed dial.
Most foreign-owned Japan subsidiaries do not need a Big Four Japanese firm, and most international Tokyo offices are priced for a different scale of matter. We sit between the two: senior partner attention, English-default delivery, transparent pricing, and a service shape that has been tested across two decades and dozens of multinational engagements.
We publish three retainer tiers because clients should know what they are buying. The structure compresses procurement friction, lets your finance team plan, and lets us focus on the substantive work that actually matters to your business — corporate governance, employment, contracts, leases, and the occasional crisis.
All tiers include partner-level attention, English- and Japanese-language delivery, and a published rate card for work above the included hours.
All retainer tiers are 12-month engagements with mutual notice. Hourly overage is invoiced quarterly and reviewed against included hours so you can move up or down a tier at renewal.
For companies establishing or formalizing Japan operations. We deliver the full operational legal stack so your country team can hire, contract, and lease from day one — and roll cleanly into one of the three retainer tiers after launch.
At Day 90 we sit down with your country lead, review the year ahead, and recommend the right ongoing tier — or not, if the fit is not there.
Discuss your setupA 24-hour management-side employment hotline for foreign-owned Japan subsidiaries. Available to retainer clients on subscription, and to non-clients on a per-engagement basis. Built for the hardest moments: contested terminations, harassment investigations, redundancy programs, Labor Standards Inspection visits, and union responses.
Partner triage within 24 hours of contact. Same-day phone or video review for active inspection visits or imminent termination decisions. We do not represent labor unions or employees. Our practice is exclusively management-side.
Initiation: ¥250,000 (one-time) · Ongoing: ¥65,000 / hr (partner)
Includes settlement strategy, drafting of mutual termination agreements, court-mediated settlement representation, and post-resolution documentation.
| Service | Japan Counsel | Japan Counsel Plus | Japan GC Premier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual statutory housekeeping | Included | Included | Included |
| Light contract review (NDAs, MSAs) | Included | Included | Included |
| Ongoing employment counseling | — | Included | Included |
| Commercial contract drafting & negotiation | Hourly | Included | Included |
| Lease & real-estate review | Hourly | Included | Included |
| M&A absorption (to defined thresholds) | — | — | Included |
| Disputes & labor litigation (to thresholds) | Hourly | Hourly / threshold | Included |
| Service-level partner response | — | Priority | SLA-backed |
| Quarterly review | Included | Included | Monthly |
“Included” means within the annual hours bundle. Work above the hours bundle is invoiced at the published hourly rate (¥65,000 partner / ¥20,000 paralegal as of 2026).
Hajime Iwaki is licensed in Japan and California, with two decades of corporate practice in international firms — most recently as a partner and Head of Corporate at DLA Piper Tokyo, and previously at O'Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles and Tokyo.
Our work is concentrated where foreign-owned Japan operations generate the most legal weight: management-side employment, commercial contracts, governance, leases, M&A, and cross-border disputes — delivered with English as the working language.
Tiers and price bands exist so your finance team can plan and your GC can sleep. Within each tier, the work is bespoke and partner-led.
Several of our retainer engagements have run for five, seven, and nine years. Most new clients arrive through a referral from a current client, a foreign law firm, or a former colleague.
Hours above your tier's bundle are invoiced at the published partner and paralegal rates. We review hours quarterly and recommend a tier change at renewal if you are consistently above or below.
We run a conflict check on every new matter and we are conservative about it. If you are in a sector with strong competitive sensitivities, we will tell you upfront where our existing client commitments may limit what we can take on. Our practice is also exclusively management-side in employment matters.
Yes — we handle commercial disputes, labor litigation (management side), shareholder and IP litigation, and creditors' work in Japanese insolvency proceedings. Threshold-bound litigation is included in the Japan GC Premier tier.
Retainer fees are invoiced monthly. Hourly overage is invoiced quarterly with detailed timekeeping. Fixed-fee engagements (Japan Setup Sprint, Employment Crisis Response initiation) are invoiced 50% on signing and 50% on completion or per agreed milestones.
Yes. We routinely engage with HQ legal teams in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. The engagement letter can be in the name of the local Japan entity or the parent — whichever is operationally cleaner.
Retainer engagements typically launch within 7–10 days of conflict clearance and engagement letter signature. The Japan Setup Sprint starts on the date you confirm — most setups are complete in 60–90 days.
A 30-minute introductory call to understand your business, the legal landscape, and whether we are the right fit. No commitment.
Schedule an introductory call