GUIDE TO LIVING AND WORKING IN TOKYO

Introduction

In spite of new legislation which will soon enable Japanese lawyers (Bengoshi) to enter into unified partnerships with foreign lawyers, practitioners from overseas will still not be entitled to practice Japanese law. Nevertheless, this reform will give international law firms their first chance to advise on local law outside of a joint venture arrangement. For that reason it is a significant change, even though in practice it will have a relatively minimal effect.

Notwithstanding the restrictions on practice, there are still plenty of good opportunities for foreign lawyers in Tokyo. Roles exist both in-house and in practice. Both the international firms, principally made up of leading US and UK based outfits, and the top domestic firms recruit overseas qualified lawyers. Japanese language skills are extremely useful for such roles, although having fluent Japanese language capability is by no means always a pre-requisite.

One reason for the demand for overseas lawyers who are unable to become qualified in Japan or practice local law is the relative shortage of Bengoshi. Japan has the World's second largest economy and a population of nearly 130 million. Yet it has only around 20,000 licensed lawyers. Moreover, only a relatively small percentage are properly equipped to work on the kind of complex corporate and finance deals demanded by the World's leading economies. A pass rate of only 3% on the profession's entrance exams and the existence of a closed shop policy towards legal education means that a maximum of around 1,000 new lawyers qualify each year.

The net effect is that the foreign firms have key roles to play on large cross border deals. Typically they farm out the local law elements to one of the relatively few big Japanese commercial firms. Some international firms have set up what is effectively their own "local firm" with which they enter into a joint venture arrangement. The JV firms can then carry out the Japanese law elements of any deal.

Outside of work, Tokyo is undoubtedly one of the World's most exciting cities. It has a breathless pace about it, seemingly never ending bright lights, a fascinating culture and no shortage of excitement. However, it can also be somewhat of a challenge to the newcomer. English is not spoken as widely as in many other Asian countries and signs are not always translated into English. For any kind of extended stay, developing some Japanese language ability, however basic is a necessity.

Whichever way one looks at it, Tokyo is extremely busy; one might even go so far as to say it is terribly crowded. Space is at an absolute premium and an unsurprising consequence is that accommodation is very expensive.
Tokyo is one of the World's most expensive cities and, by way of example, significantly more expensive than, say, Hong Kong. As one might expect, salaries are therefore high, but it is probably fair to say that an average international lawyer would not be quite so well off in Tokyo as in Hong Kong.