The Law Society has welcomed changes to the process of allowing foreign lawyers to practise in Japan which came into force today.

Japan’s $5 billion legal services market is one of the most open in Asia, with laws dating from 1987 allowing foreigners to practise. However the lengthy process for registering as a foreign lawyer has remained a barrier. As of April 2021, only 448 foreign lawyers were registered in Japan; 6,750 foreign lawyers are currently registered in England and Wales. 

Today’s changes follow efforts by the Law Society, working with the British embassy in Tokyo, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business and Trade, to identify ways to streamline the registration process. They include allowing law firms to reuse employer-related documents when registering foreign lawyers. 

Society president Nick Emmerson said he was delighted by the move. ’These changes to streamline the registration process will help to save time and money for both law firms and foreign lawyers in Japan,’ Emmerson said.  ’They are a positive reflection of the Japanese government’s broader desire to attract more foreign direct investment and highly skilled talent to its domestic market. This helps both foreign and Japanese firms hire foreign lawyers.’

Justice minister Heidi Alexander said: ’This exciting move creates a more streamlined route for UK lawyers to practise in Japan and will bolster collaboration between our legal sectors, boosting bilateral trade in legal services.’

Simon Collins, a Tokyo-based partner at international firm Watson Farley & Williams, said: ’We welcome this positive announcement from the Ministry of Justice in Japan. This change will ease the documentation process for future foreign lawyer registrations in Japan and hence will be of benefit to all international law firms operating in Japan.

’We appreciate the effort that has gone into making this change, including the time and willingness shown by the Law Society of England and Wales and the British embassy in Tokyo, as well as the Ministry of Justice and all other stakeholders, to engage in discussion and to find solutions. We hope this will continue so that further improvements to this process can be made.’