Takeshi Funaki

TAKESHI FUNAKI is a senior managing associate at Sidley Austin Foreign Law Joint Enterprise. His practice focuses on corporate, finance, regulations for pharmaceuticals and medical devices, competition law, mergers and acquisitions, and litigation. Recent representations include supporting a large-scale refinancing project for an overseas group with affiliates in Japan, assisting an overseas investment management company investing in Japanese companies to comply with Japanese financial regulations, assisting a Japanese pharmaceutical company in dealing with the FDA and other overseas regulatory authorities, representing a Japanese medical device distributor in connection with a cease and desist order issued by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), and assisting a foreign fund with anti-money laundering reporting to the Financial Services Agency (FSA). Takeshi has experience handling M&A transactions; reviewing contracts in real estate, labor, and intellectual property; and providing advice on corporate law issues.

Takeshi also has prior experience working as a legal manager in a publicly-listed Japanese company engaged in manufacturing and wholesale where he provided legal support in connection with contracts, M&A, negotiation and litigation matters as an in-house counsel in the company. He also worked for three months as a trainee at a law firm in the UK. Takeshi has been named by Best Lawyers as “Ones to Watch in Japan™” since 2024.

Takeshi is a native Japanese speaker and is fluent in English.

Representative matters include advising:

• A Japanese medical device distributor that received a cease and desist order from the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), involving responses to the JFTC investigation and filing a lawsuit seeking an injunction and revocation of the order.
• A foreign fund that had filed a Qualified Institutional Investor, etc. Special Business Notification in Japan, in connection with the preparation of a report on anti-money laundering matters requested by the Financial Services Agency (FSA).
• A foreign fund manager on Japanese financial regulations, including the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) and the Act on Investment Trusts and Investment Corporations, and supporting regulatory filings required under Japanese law.
• A foreign food-related company with a Japanese subsidiary on intragroup restructuring.
• A foreign corporate group with affiliates in Japan on contracts and procedures in relation to financing and business restructuring.
• A Japanese company (retailer) on its acquisition of a company to expand its sales channels.
• An overseas investment management company in connection with the registration of a financial instruments business in Japan, which involved Japanese regulations on the sale and purchase of securities on a financial instruments exchange, filings with the Japanese financial regulatory authorities regarding the handling of private placements of foreign investment trusts, and personal information protection regulations.
• An overseas investment management company in connection with the submission of a report and a notification (including a Large Shareholding Report and a Notification concerning Foreign Investment Company) to the Japanese financial regulator.
• An overseas company in connection with the conclusion of a pledge setting agreement secured by Japanese company shares.
• Overseas companies that have subsidiaries in Japan regarding labor issues such as employment termination.
• A Japanese sweets manufacturer in connection with the establishment of an overseas branch, involving a review of agreements (including a real estate lease agreement) and labor disputes overseas.
• An overseas company in connection with the negotiation between its subsidiary and its Japanese employees on labor disputes. 
• A Japanese company that operates post-production business in connection with its restructuring (including internal procedures for business transfer, drafting of business transfer contracts, holding of an explanation session for its employees and handling of subsequent labor issues).
• A Japanese distributor regarding intellectual property rights for its products.