OSAKA INTERNATIONAL LAW OFFICES

Honmachi-Nishii bldg., 5F
1-6-10, Utsubo Honmachi
Nishi-ku, Osaka 550-0004
Japan

Telephone 81-6-6446-1123
Facsimile 81-6-6446-1121
lawoffices@yamaintl.gr.jp

FIRM PROFILE:
Mr. Koshi Yamaguchi established his own law office in 1994 after eight years as a partner in charge of international matters at one of the largest law firms in Osaka.   Mr. Nobuaki Matsuoka, who joined the firm as an associate in 1995, became a partner in 2004.   Four Japanese associate attorneys assist them along with an Of Counsel attorney.   Mr. Yamaguchi earned a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School, and Mr. Matsuoka has spent an extended period in residence with a foreign law firm.   This provides clients with a cross-legal expertise that is unique in Osaka, and of particular relevance to international business.   Legal services are provided in all areas of Japanese domestic law without limitation.

The firm's clients consist principally of Japanese companies active throughout the world and foreign companies with interests in Japan.   Professional relationships have therefore been established and are on-going with selected law firms in many of the world's major cities.   Practice experience includes the formation of joint ventures, franchise, distribution & sales agreements, licensing agreements, intellectual property protection, the establishment of corporate entities, branch & representative offices, real estate transactions, commercial lease agreements, and agreements for the broadcast of foreign television programs in Japan.   Domestic and foreign litigation experience is extensive.

BIOGRAPHIES:
Mr. Yamaguchi earned his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Kyoto University in 1975 and was admitted to practice in 1977 after completing the national law school curriculum administered by the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan.   In 1980, he was awarded a Master of Laws (LL.M.) by Harvard Law School after a year of course work in the American Legal Studies Program.   In April 1999, he was elected a Vice-President of the Osaka Bar Association, and served in that position through March 2000.   He was a member of the 2001 Freedom of Information Act research group established by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.   He was also a vice-president of the Danish Chamber of Commerce for Western Japan (DCCWJ) from 1998 to 2004, and has been a president of DCCWJ since 2004.   Mr. Yamaguchi was an arbitrator with the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board in 2004, and since April 2004 has been an adjunct faculty at Ritsumeikan University Law School in Kyoto.

Mr. Nobuaki Matsuoka earned his LL.B. from Chuo University in Tokyo in 1987, and was admitted to practice in 1995 after completing the national law school curriculum administered by the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan.   He attended a U.S legal studies program at the University of California Davis in 1996, and was awarded a Master of Laws (M.L.I.) by the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2001.   From 2001 to 2002, he was with the Louisville, Kentucky office of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC as the firm's resident Japanese law consultant.

Mr. Akinobu Horii earned a LL.B. in 2001, and a LL.M. in 2003 from Osaka University.   He was admitted to practice in 2004 on his completion of the national law school curriculum administered by the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan.

Mr. Kohei Iwasaki earned his LL.B. from Kyoto University in 2005.   He was admitted to practice in 2006 on his completion of the national law school curriculum administered by the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan.

Ms. Mayu Suzuki earned her LL.B. from Osaka City University in 2002.   She was admitted to practice in 2007 after her attendance at Osaka City University Law School and upon her completion of the national law school curriculum administered by the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan.

Ms. Rei Hidaka earned her LL.B. from Kyoto University in 2004 and a LL.M from Kyoto University Law School in 2006.   She was admitted to practice in 2007 on her completion of the national law school curriculum administered by the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan.

OF COUNSEL:
Mr. Takashi Oseto earned an LL.B. in 1968, and a LL.M. in 1972 from Chuo University, Tokyo.   He was a Professor of Library and Information Science, and then a member of the Faculty of Law as a Professor at Ritsumeikan University from 1994 to 2003.   Since 2003, he has been a Professor of Konan Law School Faculty of Law.