Westlaw Japan Press Release

Westlaw Japan K.K. Hosts a Premium Online Seminar
Cosponsored by Kitahama Partners and Westlaw Japan K.K.

The Enactment of the Amended Antimonopoly Act —Updates in the leniency program and Japan’s first confidentiality protection for attorney-client communications

Lecturer: Shunsuke Yabuuchi, Attorney at Law, Kitahama Partners

Westlaw Japan K.K. (Minato Ward, Tokyo, Representative Director: Young Sun Bang) will cosponsor a premium online seminar titled “The Enactment of the Amended Antimonopoly Act —Updates in the leniency program and Japan’s first confidentiality protection for attorney-client communications” with Kitahama Partners on Tuesday, September 29.

The enactment of the Amended Antimonopoly Act in June 2019 has brought about several changes to the system. Penalties (surcharges) against cartels, which are prohibited by the Antimonopoly Act, have been enhanced. The leniency program has been revised so that companies who cooperate with antitrust investigations may receive reductions in surcharges. The amendment also includes the introduction of a system to allow rejection of submitting certain attorney-client communications to the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), with the aim of streamlining operations of the leniency program.
The Amended Antimonopoly Act is planned to be enforced by the end of December 2020. For incidents whose investigations start after the enforcement, conformity with the amended act will be required. Penalties (surcharges) against cartels can go up to as high as several billions of yens, as seen in past cases. Therefore, when your own enterprise is involved in violations of the act, it is important to cooperate with the investigations accordingly and to receive reductions in surcharges.
In this seminar, Mr. Shunsuke Yabuuchi from Kitahama Partners will explain the main points of the amendment, by comparing the previous and amended acts. He will also give us a detailed insight into how our work may be affected by the amendment. Based on the JFTA regulations and guidelines on the new system, Mr. Yabuuchi will use hypothetical cases to explain in detail about the changes under the new system and what actions enterprises must take. We hope this seminar will serve as the first step for you to take action in response to the amended act.
We are confident that this seminar will be a great opportunity for you to organize the key points on the Amended Antimonopoly Act. We are looking forward to your participation.

• Please note that the program/contents of the seminar are subject to change.
• This seminar is intended for those working for corporate legal affairs and/or intellectual property departments. We may not be able to accept your application if you do not work for such departments or if we work in the same trade. (Corporate lawyers are an exception.)

For details, please check the link below.https://www.westlawjapan.com/event/premium/200929.html

Introduction of Lecturer
Kitahama Partners
Shunsuke Yabuuchi, Attorney at Law
Mr. Yabuuchi graduated from the Kobe University Faculty of Law in 2001 and from the Kobe University Graduate School of Law in 2002. In 2003, he was admitted to practice law in Japan. From 2006 to 2009, he worked for the Japan Fair Trade Commission in the Investigation Bureau of the General Secretariat. Making use of this experience, Mr. Yabuuchi specializes on the Antimonopoly Act, the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Presentations, and the Subcontract Act, and gives technical advice to enterprises. He was also a professor at the Kobe University Graduate School of Law from 2016 to 2020.