Effective 1 March, the group will offer a range of legal services for the industry, which has lost steam in the domestic market but is gaining internationally. These include services related to M&A; foreign investment restrictions; business alliances; setting up regional headquarters; advice on the collection, use and retention of big data; compliance measures; competition law issues; tax planning; and advice on transfer pricing.

Working with Baker & McKenzie offices globally, the new group is headed by Yaeko Hodaka, partner of the Tokyo office's Corporate/M&A group and assisted by key members Daisuke Tatsuno (ITC), Toshio Ibaraki (Compliance), Junya Ae (Antitrust), Ryutaro Oka (Tax) and Koji Oshima (Transfer Pricing).