Asagi Shibui has joined southgate. Asagi began her career at a Japanese law firm, where she engaged in domestic M&A, LBO finance transactions and corporate and commercial matters.

She focuses on domestic and cross-border M&A and start-up investments, and also advises on corporate law, securities regulations, and other […]

The 2026 Chambers Global guide ranked southgate as one of the top firms in Japan in its Corporate/M&A (Domestic) category, marking the eighth year in a row we have received this honor. The guide also ranked Eric Marcks for the eighth year in a row among top international lawyers in Japan in the […]

• 8^th in number of completed deals: LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) Japan M&A Legal Advisory Review Q4 2025
• 9^th in number of deals: Mergermarket Global and Regional M&A Rankings 12M 2025

southgate has earned the following rankings for M&A activity in Japan:

• 8^th in number of completed deals: LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) Japan M&A Legal Advisory Review Q4 2025
• 9^th in number of deals: Mergermarket Global and Regional M&A Rankings 12M 2025

southgate was ranked as one of the top firms and Eric Marcks and Takahito Fujii have been ranked among top lawyers in the following categories for the Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026:

Corporate and M&A: Independent Local Firms
southgate
Leading partners: Gaiben – Eric Marcks
Other Key Lawyers: Takeshi Iitani, […]

We are delighted to announce that Anthony J. Luna joined southgate on January 1, 2026.

Anthony practices in the areas of M&A, VC, technology, and AI governance. He brings a dual perspective rarely found in the Japanese legal market, having served as the general counsel of a […]

The 2026 Chambers Asia-Pacific guide ranked southgate as one of the top firms in Japan in its Corporate/M&A (Domestic) category, marking the ninth year in a row we have received this honor. The guide also ranked Eric Marcks for the eighth year in a row among top international lawyers in Japan in the […]

• 7^th in number of completed deals and 8^th in number of announced deals: LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) Japan M&A Legal Advisory Review Q3 2025
  Japan M&A Legal Advisory Review […]

  southgate has earned the following rankings for M&A activity among all firms in Japan:

  • 7^th in number of completed deals and 8^th in number of announced deals: LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) Japan M&A Legal Advisory Review Q3 2025
    Japan M&A Legal Advisory Review […]

southgate was selected as one of the top M&A law firms in Japan by Asian Legal Business (a Thomson Reuters publication) in its 2025 guide to the best M&A firms in Asia.

Details are available at Asian Legal Business’s website:
ALB ASIA SEPTEMBER 2025

Eriko Asanuma has joined southgate. Eriko focuses on domestic and cross-border M&A, start-up investments, corporate law, securities regulations, and other general corporate matters. Eriko began her career at the Tokyo office of Linklaters, where she engaged in cross-border and domestic corporate and commercial matters.

Eric Marcks and Yu Mizutani recognized by IFLR1000