‘Norihito Sato is very good at coming up with thoughtful and practical solutions to accommodate the different parties, while making sure to protect our interests.’
Legal 500
Introduction
He is focused on domestic and overseas M&A transactions including going-private management buyout, carve-out by private equity funds, joint ventures, strategic alliances and complex cross-border transactions.He has extensive knowledge in road transport regulations including automated vehicles and MaaS. During his secondment to the Road Transport Bureau of MLIT, he was in charge of amending the Road Transport Vehicle Act, which enables the safe deployment of automated vehicles in Japan. He also drafted the Ministry’s report on determining the civil liability caused by automated vehicles. He was deeply involved with type approval and recall regulations as well as investigations of inspection cheating scandals of some large car makers.
Practices
Major Cases
Seminars
- July 11, 2023 (Tue) 15:30～17:00"Current Status and Key Points of Carve-out M&A (Part 60): Commentary Focusing on Complex Multinational Carve-out Cases"
- March 09, 2023 (Thu) 9:30～19:00"ReVision Mobility Summit 2023"
- March 08, 2023 (Wed) 14:30～16:00"IPBA2023：New Mobility Solutions in the World of Autonomous/Electric Vehicles and Urban Air Mobility Vehicles"
Major Awards
- Legal 500 - TMT Next Generation Partner (2025)
- Young Lawyer of the Year - ALB Japan Law Awards 2024
- Best Lawyers in Japan (M&A, Transportation Law) (2024, 2025)
- Legal 500 - TMT - Key Lawyers (2023, 2024)
- Legal 500 - M&A - Key Lawyers (2024)
- “Asia 40 under 40” - Asian Legal Business (2021)
Profile
Background
The University of Tokyo (LL.B., 2007)
Northwestern University School of Law (LL.M., 2013), Kellogg School of Management (Certificate in Business Administration, 2013)
Hengeler Mueller, Düsseldorf (2013-2014)
seconded to Hitachi, Ltd. (2014-2015)
Road Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Director for Policy Planning and Coordination) (2017-2019)
Major Activities
- Member of Autonomous Driving Working Group, Automotive Division, Land Transportation Subcommittee, Council for Transport Policy (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) (2024-)
- Member of Study Group on Measures to Ensure Safety Performance of Automated Vehicles (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) (2024-)
- Member of Study Group on Civil Liability under the Automobile Liability Security Act for Automated Vehicles for the Introduction of Robot Taxis (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) (2024-)
- Member of Working Group on the Examination of Social Implementation of Automated Delivery Robots with Higher Delivery Capacity (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) (2024-)
- Member of the Sub-Working Group on the Examination of Social Rules Concerning Automated Vehicles in the AI Era, Digital Agency (2023-)
- External Advisory Committee Member of the Small/Startup Business Innovation Research Promotion Program (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) (2023-)
- Member of Project Adoption and Screening Committee (Digital Technology Development aimed at Regulatory Advancements in the field of Mobility), New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) (2020)
Qualifications & Affiliations
admitted in Japan, 2008
Daini-Tokyo Bar Association
Daini-Tokyo Bar Association