Baker McKenzie Welcomes Shuichi Sugahisa, Former Secretary General of the Japan Fair Trade Commission, to the Tokyo Office
Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) would like to extend a warm welcome to Shuichi Sugahisa, former Secretary General of the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), who joins the firm as a senior consultant in the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Group on August 16, 2022.
Shuichi has been engaged in competition law practice and policy — with a focus on the Antimonopoly Act and other related laws — for approximately 40 years since joining the JFTC in 1983. During his tenure at the JFTC, he worked on important regulatory reforms, including the 2002 amendment of the Antimonopoly Act, the 2017 revision of the Guidelines for Distribution and Trade Practices and the 2019 amendment of the Antimonopoly Act (including the enactment of rules and regulations regarding newly established determination procedures (Japanese Attorney-Client Privilege)).
Shuichi was also involved in major legislative efforts at the Consumer Affairs Agency, including the enactment of the Food Labelling Law, the Act on Special Measures against Shifting of Consumption Tax in 2013 and two amendments to the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations in 2014. On the enforcement side, he handled a number of cases with significant socioeconomic impacts, such as large-scale cartel cases and merger control cases involving transactions between large companies.
During his JFTC tenure, Shuichi served as Director General of the Trade Practices Department, Director General of the Economic Affairs Bureau and Secretary General of the JFTC. He was instrumental in strengthening the enforcement of the Antimonopoly Act and also worked vigorously on strengthening advocacy activities by the JFTC.
Baker McKenzie’s Tokyo office has received the Asian Legal Business Japan Law Award for Antitrust and Competition Law Firm of the Year for two consecutive years (2020 and 2021) and has been recognized by Chambers, The Legal 500, the Global Competition Review (GCR) and other major legal directories. The addition of Shuichi will take our regulatory legal advice to the next level.
Akifusa Takada, co-Managing Partner of Baker McKenzie’s Tokyo office, commented, “Competition law enforcement is being strengthened and legal systems are being revised rapidly around the world. It is extremely important for Japanese companies operating global businesses to keep abreast of the latest information in a comprehensive and holistic manner. We’re confident that the addition of Shuichi — a leading expert in this field in Japan — when combined with Baker McKenzie’s unparalleled global antitrust and competition law group, will form a uniquely strong service offering for our clients.”
Mark Hamer, Chair of the firm’s Global Antitrust & Competition Practice Group, added, “We are delighted to be joined by Shuichi, whose extensive antitrust knowledge and regulatory experience with the JFTC will further bolster our leading practice in Japan and premier global offering for our clients. More than ever, multinational businesses require practical insight and guidance on antitrust risks across the globe and Shuichi’s expertise perfectly complements our strong bench of practitioners around the world.”
Baker McKenzie’s Antitrust & Competition practice is the largest in the world, with more than 300 practitioners across 60 offices and 43 countries globally. The practice is a Chambers Global Band 2 antitrust practice, and is ranked No. 5 in the Global Competition Review’s 2022 Global Elite list of premier competition practices.
1983 Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Economics
1983 Secretariat of the JFTC
1991 Consul, Consulate General of Japan in Berlin
2009 Director, Management and Planning Division, Investigation Bureau
2010 Director, General Affairs Division
2-2013 Deputy Director General, Consumer Affairs Agency
6-2016 Director General, Trade Practices Department, General Secretariat of the JFTC
7-2017 Director General, Economic Transactions Bureau
1-2020 Secretary General
7-2022 Retired from the JFTC
Publications
2020 “Antimonopoly Law (4th Edition)” (Editor)
2021 “Learning Antimonopoly Law for the First Time (3rd Edition)” (Editor)
2021 “Antimonopoly Law for Beginners” (Author), etc.