Mr. Amemiya is a partner in our Tokyo office. His principal area of experience is in antitrust/antimonopoly law, enhanced by having a broad range of experience in international business transactions and corporate matters. Mr. Amemiya has also counseled clients in litigation matters for law firms in Japan and the United States. He held the title of Investigator at the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), the competition authority in Japan, from 2001 to 2004 (an attorney working in a Japanese government agency is remarkably uncommon) where he not only handled a number of cartel, monopoly, unfair trade practice and surcharge (kachokin) cases, but also advised JFTC staff on other matters including M&A and lectured on various legal issues before JFTC executives and staff.

Mr. Amemiya played a leading role in cases involving cartel/bid rigging, private monopoly and unfair trade practices in the oil, construction, medical device and metal piping industries. These cases were some of the JFTC’s most challenging and notorious, resulting in model rulings on a number of key issues. He also participated in JFTC competition reviews related to the cellular telephone industry and the food container industry.

In addition to his specific case work, Mr. Amemiya directly advised the JFTC executives on all aspects of antitrust law and interacted with them regarding JFTC enforcement strategy, the practice of on-site investigations, and administrative suits and fines. Since joining the firm, a number of leading Japanese business organizations have looked to him to address their members on many of the JFTC’s key methods of regulating and investigating companies doing business in Japan.

Mr. Amemiya received his LL.B. degree from Chuo University in 1989 and LL.M degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1998. He completed his studies at the Legal Training & Research Institute, and was admitted to practice law in Japan in 1993 and also in New York in 1999. He is a member of the Tokyo Bar Association and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, as well as the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and International Bar Association. He has authored the article on the Antimonopoly Act of Japan which appeared in the Winter 2003 Special Extended issue of Antitrust Report (Matthew Bender).