Akihiro Hironaka

Partner, Nishimura & Asahi

Akihiro Hironaka is a partner in the dispute resolution group at Nishimura & Asahi, the largest law firm in Japan. Mr Hironaka is renowned for his successful representation of clients in large-scale and complex disputes. For example, he succeeded in defending a client in six large, extraordinary parallel lawsuits with total damages claims amounting to Y48.3 billion, filed by claimants including an affiliate company of a US-headquartered investment bank and a US hedge fund. He also has a remarkable record of achievements in defending complex product liability and mass tort claims, cross-border disputes relating to M&A transactions and terminations of distribution agreements, and pursuing construction and tax disputes. Mr Hironaka is a graduate of the University of Tokyo (LLB, 1993) and Harvard Law School (LLM, 2003), and is admitted to the Bar in Japan and New York. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He has served as a judge of the Yokohama District Court (1998–2000), and worked as a foreign attorney at Arnold & Porter, Washington, DC (2003–2004). Mr Hironaka has authored numerous books, book chapters and articles, including Yasuhei Taniguchi et al. eds, Civil Procedure in Japan (contributor, Juris Publishing, 2018). He is an individually ranked lawyer with Who’s Who Legal, Chambers and The Legal 500. He was awarded “Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year” at the ALB Japan Law Awards in 2022.