Practice areas

Capital markets; inbound investment; outbound investment; private equity, venture capital & funds; investment fund

Introduction

Nobuharu Onishi is a leading partner in the Asset Management and Investment Funds Practice Group at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto consisting of four partners, three counsels and 15 associates as well as 35 paralegals, who have been in charge of seven (out of 12) public offering deals for newly issued units/shares of foreign investment funds in Japan during the year 2022.

His expertise covers all aspects of investment funds and financial regulations, advising an international client base, with a particular focus on the US, the EU, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands.

Nobu has substantial experience in advising alternative investment fund managers (AIFM) and similar entities on contract drafting and regulatory compliance, including filing notifications and discussing with the Japanese authorities in connection with the admission of Japanese investors. He has advised on various innovative funds including investment funds aimed at products with less liquidity such as private equity and real estate. Also, he has advised on the formation and fund-raising of domestic and overseas private equity and venture capital funds. Moreover, he had been giving advice to the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the Japan Securities Dealers Association (JSDA) when new foreign investment funds’ regulations concerning derivative transactions and diversification requirements were introduced, and he assisted JSDA to prescribe the new regulations in accordance with the Asia Region Funds Passport’s Memorandum of Co-operation that the Japanese government signed.

He is a frequent speaker on investment funds at conferences and seminars. He has been recognised as a leading lawyer in the investment fund practice in Japan, ranked frequently by publications such as Legal 500 and Best Lawyers, and has been ranked as a Band 1 investment funds lawyer in Chambers Asia Pacific – “Nobuharu Onishi acts for an enviable roster of asset managers, multinational corporations and top-tier financial institutions, a commentator also notes: ‘He possesses a lot of experience related to the offshore funds and also has communication skills to align with the recipients.’”

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