Mariko Obana is senior of counsel at Morrison Foerster Law Offices. She represents various Japanese companies in all aspects of general corporate matters and her practice includes financing and investments representing domestic and international banks, real estate finance and acquisition, lending, licensing, distribution and joint venture.

Mariko has advised on Japan antitrust law and has extensive knowledge with EU antitrust law. She has also advised a rating agency on securitization matters and has extensive experience in cross-border litigation matters.

Mariko has served on various government committees, including as a member of the Reemployment Monitoring Committee (until March 2024) and the Supervisory Commission for Public-Private and Private-Private Competitive Tenderings (until July 2022), as an expert member of the Supervisory Commission for Public-Private and Private-Private Competitive Tenderings, as an external expert for the Ministry of Finance’s Administrative Business Review, and as a member of the Ministry of Finance’s Third Bid Monitoring Committee, the Japan Coast Guard’s Bid Monitoring Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ Contract Monitoring Committee, the Japan External Trade Organization’s Contract Monitoring Committee, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s Fair Bidding Investigation Committee.

Mariko received her LL.B. from Waseda University, and her LL.M. (cum laude, including a European Law degree) from Université catholique de Louvain Graduate School of Law in Belgium.

Mariko is a bengoshi admitted to practice in Japan and a conciliation commissioner of family affairs at Tokyo Family Court, as well as a holder of nursery teacher license.