Tokyo- LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – The international law firm Jones Day is pleased to announce the addition of Tadakatsu Sano, as Of Counsel based in its Tokyo office. He will be part of the Firm’s Government Regulations practice, focusing on trade policy. In addition, Mr. Sano will serve as a contact point in Japan for a number of the Firm’s specialized practices, including energy, lending and structured finance, telecommunications, antitrust, and mergers and acquisitions.
“We are honored that Tadakatsu Sano has chosen to join the Firm in our Tokyo Office after a distinguished career in the service of the Japanese government and his country,” said Stephen J. Brogan, Managing Partner of Jones Day. “Tadakatsu joins us at an important moment in the history of Japan’s resurgent position in the world. Business investment and working capital will continue to grow in Japan as the cost of funds remains low. At the same time, the landslide victory of Prime Minister Koizumi and the LDP in September favors an overall improved economic and fiscal environment. We expect that environment will lead Japanese corporations to increase investment abroad, particularly in the rest of Asia. The climate will also attract significant new inbound investment into Japan.”
“Jones Day is currently blessed with many highly talented Japanese partners and lawyers,” Brogan continued. “Tadakatsu’s contribution to our strong and growing Tokyo office will materially advance our ability to service our Japanese clients in their operations in Japan and around the world. We are very grateful that he is with us.”
Until 2004, Mr. Sano had served as Vice Minister for International Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), where he was responsible for trade policy, including World Trade Organization issues, Free Trade Agreements, regional issues such as APEC, OECD, bilateral trade issues and other specific international policy issues. Prior to that, in 2001, he was Director-General at the Trade Directorate’s Trade Policy Bureau, where he tackled various issues involving China, including China’s accession to WTO, and the bi-lateral trade dispute over Chinese vegetable exports to Japan.
“I have been an admirer of Tad for a number of years,” said John C. Roebuck, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s Tokyo office. “He is a first-rate individual with tremendous knowledge and experience in international economic and trade policy and the implications thereof for both Japanese companies and international companies doing business in Japan. We’re very excited that he is joining the Firm.”
A native of Kanagawa, Mr. Sano grew up in Kobe, Japan and attended Kyoto University, where he earned his law degree. He joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI, now METI) in 1969. After serving in various posts, including two assignments in Paris, he served as Executive Assistant to Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa in 1993-94, when Japan agreed to open its rice market to the world to ensure the success of the Uruguay Round. Following his return to MITI in 1994, he worked with several MITI Ministers in the field of international trade policy based on the newly established WTO trade regime, including the US-Japan Auto Negotiation and Semiconductor talks. He also contributed to launching the OECD study of Regulatory Reform, which encouraged the Japanese government to proceed with deregulation of such public sector activities such as telecommunications, energy and financial services.
“I’m looking forward to working with the world-class lawyers at Jones Day,” said Mr. Sano. “The Firm’s international scale, large multinational and global clients, and burgeoning presence in Japan are major differentiators and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Mr. Sano is a frequent speaker and lecturer at various academic institutions on many topics, such as FTA and regional cooperation. He was a panelist at the World Economic Forum and at the Boao Forum in 2003, and has been published and quoted in the Financial Times, International Herald Tribune and Nikkei Shinbun (where he is a periodic contributor), and has been heard on NHK radio.
