Kana Itabashi

Biography

Kana Itabashi is a member of the Corporate/M&A practice group at the Firm's Tokyo office and a member of Global International Commercial & Trade practice group. Kana has over twenty years of legal experience and has broad experience advising multinational companies in various industries on international trade and cross border commercial issues, including trade remedies, export control, sanctions, import/export regulatory issues, as well as highly regulated commercial agreements.

Prior to joining the firm, she worked as a junior accountant at a major auditing firm, where she mainly performed accounting audits for listed companies, etc. From 2007 to 2009, she was seconded to the principal investment department of a major Japanese securities company, where she was involved in private equity investments, emissions trading and various other investment projects.

Practice Focus

Kana is an international trade and commercial lawyer with a particular focus on the industrial, manufacturing and transportation and the consumer goods and retail industries. She is skilled in handling various trade issues, including anti-dumping/countervailing duties, export control and sanctions, customs audits, government procurement and international agreements governing the cross border movement of products and services and supply chain management. Kana also advises on various product safety, consumer protection and carbon neutrality- / environmental compliance-related issues, including hazardous chemical import/export regulations, waste management and product lifecycle-related recycling. Kana is also a member of the International Emission Trading Association's Japan Task Force and has been actively advising on climate change and carbon neutrality strategies.

Representative Legal Matters

Represented a Japanese multinational company in an anti-dumping investigation by the US government.
Conducted supply chain restructuring analyses in response to US-China trade tensions on behalf several Japanese semiconductor companies.
Conducted a supply chain restructuring analysis in response to US-China trade tensions on behalf of a Japanese multinational conglomerate.
Represented a Japanese multinational consumer goods company in its divestment from Russia caused by the Russia/Ukraine situation.
Represented a US military industry company in a government procurement issue involving the Japanese government.
Represented a US military industry company in a Japanese export control issue in relation to its supply agreement with a Japanese military industry company.
Represented a multinational motorcycle company in the restructuring of its dealerships, including termination of dealers.
Represented a Japanese multinational sporting goods company in connection with a compliance issue related to the management of a restricted chemical substance.
Represented a US multinational retail company in environmental due diligence on over 600 sites in Japan.
Represented an independent administrative agency in the negotiation of an emissions reduction purchase agreement under the Kyoto Protocol.
Represented various Japanese companies in the negotiation of carbon credit transactions for their carbon neutrality strategies.
Represented a Japanese private equity firm in its acquisition of a Japanese healthcare company.
Represented a Japanese pharmaceutical consumer product company establishing a joint venture company in Vietnam.
Represented a multinational media company in restructuring its Japanese subsidiaries.

Professional Associations and Memberships

Japan Federation of Bar Associations - Member
Tokyo Bar Association - Member

Admissions

Japan (2001)

Education

Georgetown University Law Center (LLM)
The University of Tokyo (Bachelor of Economics)

Languages

English
Japanese

Co-author, “Tightened US export control regulations and impact on Japanese companies” Chuokeizai-sha, January 2023, Language: Japanese

Author, "Overview of Environmental Regulations in South East Asia," Kankyo Kanri, Vol. 49, No.7, Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry, July 2013

Co-editor, "Contaminated Real Estate Transactions from a Legal, Accounting and Tax Perspective," Chuokeizai-sha, September 2012, Language: Japanese

Co-author, "Chapter 2: Business Environmental Law & Regulations," Understanding the Manufacturing Process Flow Through Business Environment Law, LexisNexis, March 2012, Language: Japanese

Co-author, M&A Handbook on Conducting Business Practically, Chuokeizai-sha, June 2010, Language: Japanese

Co-author, A Strategic Manual for Creditors in Bankruptcy Proceedings, Japanese Nikkei Publishing Inc., January 2010, Language: Japanese

Co-author, Cross-border M&A, Chuokeizai-sha, July 2008, Language: Japanese