southgate was ranked by asialaw 2026 among top firms in Japan in the category of Corporate and M&A.

Keiko Fuse has joined southgate. Keiko began her career at a major railway company, where she gained experience in frontline operations and subsequently handled litigation and recruitment matters in the human resources department.

Before joining the firm, Keiko practiced at two Japanese law firms, […]

Ryo Uehara has joined southgate. Ryo began his career at Baker & McKenzie Tokyo where he engaged in labor and employment matters and disputes and corporate and commercial matters for global and domestic companies.

He focuses on domestic and cross-border M&A, start-up investments, employment, […]

southgate was ranked 14^th in the Asia Pacific Private Equity Stages ranking of the LSEG Global Private Equity and Venture Capital Review First Half 2026, the only Japanese law firm appearing in the ranking.

Details are available at the LSEG website:
LSEG: Global Private Equity Legal Advisory […]

Asia Business Law Journal has selected Eric Marcks for inclusion in its A-List for the third year in a row. This list features Japan’s top 100 lawyers in all disciplines. Eric is the only international corporate lawyer at a domestic firm to appear on this list, and he was one of six lawyers […]

Reid Monroe-Sheridan, Takahito Fujii, Haruya Suzuki, Yutaro Ito and Tomohiro Oshige co-authored the Law and Practice chapter for Japan in the “Venture Capital 2026” guide, published by Chambers and Partners. The chapter provides an overview of the VC […]

Takeshi Iitani, Reid Monroe-Sheridan, Takahito Fujii and Akira Kawashiro co-authored the Trends and Developments chapter for Japan in the “Corporate M&A 2026” guide, published by Chambers and Partners. The chapter provides an overview of the Corporate M&A market in Japan, highlighting […]

The Best Lawyers guide has recommended Eric Marcks, Takeshi Iitani and Reid Monroe-Sheridan in its Japan 2027 Edition Awards as follows.

Eric Marcks
– Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
– International Business Transactions

Takeshi Iitani
– Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions Law

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 […]