David Azcue is a Partner in the Firm’s Tokyo office, where he co-heads our Private Funds Practice in Japan and helps supervise the Firm’s Asia Private Funds practice. He has spent over 35 years in Japan as a student, entrepreneur, legal specialist at a Japanese manufacturing company, professional translator and interpreter, and for most of the past 20 years as a private funds attorney with the Firm. David spent two years in the Firm’s Beijing office, from 2013 to 2015. David has been recognized as a leading private funds lawyer by numerous authorities including Chambers Asia-Pacific, Legal 500 and Lexology (formerly Who’s Who Legal), and brings to his practice a deep understanding of Japan and broad experience in global fundraisings for private investment funds.

Noritaka Kumamoto is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Tokyo office and a member of the Firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice and Litigation Practice. Noritaka regularly represents major Japanese and U.S. corporations and financial institutions on both inbound and outbound M&A transactions, and also represents various Japanese corporations on government investigations and litigations. Some of his clients include KKR, Sumitomo Life Insurance and Murata Manufacturing. 

Prior to joining the Firm, Noritaka worked in the business and legal departments of major Japanese banks in Japan and New York. He is a Japanese citizen and fluent in Japanese.

Bilingual in English and Japanese, Taki Saito is a Partner in our Tokyo office, concentrating on capital markets and M&A transactions. He regularly advises issuers and underwriters on global securities offerings by Japanese issuers—including Rule 144A/Regulation S offerings and U.S.-registered offerings, as well as listings by Japanese issuers on U.S. securities exchanges. Taki’s IPO clients include Kioxia Holdings Corporation in its US$698 million IPO and global offering of shares; Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. in its US$2.3 billion IPO, which is the largest IPO in Japan since 2018; Skymark in its $244 million IPO and global offering of shares; and Socionext in its $450 million IPO and listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which is the largest Japanese IPO of 2022. On debt offerings, he has experience advising virtually all of the major underwriters in the market with respect to multiple senior and subordinated debt offerings.

Based in the Firm’s Tokyo office, David Snowden represents both Japanese issuers and international underwriters on a wide range of complex and significant securities offerings. For more than a decade, David has worked on global IPOs by Japanese issuers, Rule 144A/Regulation S international debt and equity offerings, public offerings in the United States and debt tender offers, across several industries. David has been recognized as a “Next Generation Partner” in Capital Markets by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific and “Rising Star Partner” in Capital Markets Equity and Debt by IFLR1000 Asia Pacific. He is a native French speaker and is proficient in Japanese.

Recognized for his work in M&A and private equity by Chambers, IFLR,  Asian Legal Business and Who’s Who Legal, Jonathan Stradling regularly represents private equity sponsors and public and private companies in a broad range of transactions and corporate governance matters. He represents clients in complex transactions including mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, carve-outs, recapitalizations and other corporate transactions across a variety of industries, including technology, financial institutions, infrastructure, real estate, energy and industrials, among others.

Sonya Ho is Counsel based in the Firm’s Tokyo office. Sonya advises corporate, private equity and other clients in connection with a variety of complex cross-border transactions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, PIPE transactions, minority and strategic investments and other corporate matters. She represents clients in a variety of industries, including technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer products, media, entertainment and industrials.