Senior Official From Japan’s Competition Commission Joined Baker

Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise), a Japanese member firm of Baker McKenzie, has hired former secretary general of the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) Shuichi Sugahisa as a senior consultant in the firm’s antitrust and competition group in Tokyo.

Sugahisa has more than 40 years of experience in competition law practice and policy, with a focus on the Antimonopoly Act and other related laws. He joined the JFTC in 1983 and has served in various roles in the institution, including as director general of the trade practices department in 2016 and director general of the economic affairs bureau in 2017 before assuming the role as secretary general in 2020.

During his tenure, Sugahisa has worked on important regulatory reforms, including the 2002 and 2019 amendments of the Antimonopoly Act, the 2017 revision of the Guidelines for Distribution and Trade Practices, and was also involved in major legislative efforts at the Consumer Affairs Agency. On the enforcement side, he handled various large-scale cartel and merger control cases involving transactions between large companies.

“Competition law enforcement is being strengthened and legal systems are being revised rapidly around the world,” said Akifusa Takada, a co-managing partner of Baker McKenzie’s Tokyo office. “It is extremely important for Japanese companies operating global businesses to keep abreast of the latest information in a comprehensive and holistic manner.”

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