Safeguarding Overseas Business through Expertise in Local Law

I studied law at a university in Kyoto, where I was a member of the university’s windsurfing club. I dedicated my time to windsurfing practice sessions at Lake Biwako, and I probably spent more time windsurfing with teammates than studying. Although I didn’t have a fully defined vision for my career path while searching for post-graduate opportunities, I had a vague desire to work in a role that would connect me with people and businesses overseas. That interest led me to explore general trading companies, where I imagined the work would involve interesting and exciting projects. During my job hunt, I discovered Sojitz. The Sojitz employees I met throughout the interview process were upbeat and highly motivated. I imagined it would be fun to work alongside these individuals and aspired to become a similarly dynamic professional. Sojitz employees were the main reason that I decided to apply to, and ultimately join, Sojitz.

After joining Sojitz in 2002, I was first assigned to a risk management department where I conducted credit assessments to evaluate the creditworthiness of other business entities and deliberated on investment and loan proposals. Through this experience, I learned that general trading companies are not just about front-facing business divisions handling goods and services. Behind the scenes, corporate departments provide professional expertise and support to ensure that business transactions are completed swiftly and securely. With each project, I felt a growing sense of pride and joy as I continued picking up new specialized skills.

While working in the Risk Management Department, I went on my first overseas assignment to Beijing as a language trainee. I was diligent in my Chinese studies as I aimed to master the language. In the mornings, I attended language school at a university and in the afternoons, I went to a private language school. In addition to language studies, I learned about Chinese culture, history, and values through daily life in Beijing. Through my time abroad, I discovered the importance of working overseas to gain local insights on the ground in order to better understand the region. After spending time as a language trainee in Beijing, I was dispatched to Sojitz Shanghai through Sojitz’s trainee program* where I worked in a legal and risk management department in order to gain on-site experience as a junior employee. In Shanghai, I started handling legal tasks, such as litigation and debt recovery, in addition to tackling risk management tasks. I worked on projects from multiple angles that extended beyond risk management, which motivated me to further expand my core skill set. Following this experience, I decided to take the initiative and apply to transfer to Tokyo HQ’s Legal Department with the support of supervisors and colleagues, and my transfer was approved in 2009.

In the Legal Department, I grew increasingly appreciative for how interesting work could be as I navigated local legal systems and contract risks. My first overseas assignment with the Legal Department brought me to London where I handled legal and compliance matters for Sojitz’s Europe, Russia, and Africa regions. In this role, I managed the London legal team, which included senior attorneys from a variety of backgrounds, and gained insight into the nature of legal work across various jurisdictions and the inherent challenges associated with leading a diverse workforce. After working in London, I was assigned to Dubai where the scope of my responsibilities expanded to include accounting, IT, and HR tasks, in addition to handling legal affairs. Through legal work, I learned that each country’s legal practices are greatly influenced by the specific country’s values and customs. For example, religion is often central to the law in Islamic countries, which is important to understand in order to fully assess legal risks. My overseas experience studying the fundamentals of international business law in different countries has become an incredible asset that has shaped my career.


* Trainee program: Sojitz has various training systems in place to cultivate management level employees, including an overseas trainee program, a system for dispatching employees to MBA programs, and self-guided programs for language acquisition.

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After returning to Japan, I formed a proposal based on my legal work in countries overseas, including Vietnam. I proposed that Sojitz dispatch a designated legal expert to Vietnam, where Sojitz is engaged in a considerable number of businesses. While Sojitz had legal experts on assignment in the U.S., U.K., and other cities who managed legal work for an entire region, no precedent existed for sending a specialist to work for a single country. This initiative would be a new and exciting challenge. Sojitz contributes to Vietnamese society through its close involvement in the development of a wide range of businesses and industries across Vietnam, including businesses in fertilizer sales, agricultural materials distribution, retail, and food products. The diversity of Sojitz’s business fields in Vietnam indicated a need for a legal department in the region. From my international experiences in Beijing, Shanghai, London, and Dubai, I learned how vital it is to understand local cultures and business customs through immersion before collaborating with local staff. I was confident that having a legal representative from Sojitz Tokyo HQ based in Vietnam would markedly expand the scope of Sojitz’s business possibilities in the country. I felt that it would be best to offer the professional development opportunity to a junior member from Tokyo’s Legal Department. In the end, my manager encouraged me to go to Vietnam based on the conviction that I had shown in my proposal.

In 2023, I was transferred to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and started forming Sojitz Vietnam’s legal and compliance team. For Sojitz, permanently stationing a member of Tokyo HQ’s Legal Department in Vietnam was a first-time initiative. We started from scratch, and I worked to establish a new framework to execute the functions that had previously been performed remotely from Tokyo HQ. Naturally, overseas assignments entail greater costs, and the positive impact would need to be quantified. That being said, there are many ways to demonstrate the positive effects of an in-person staff member. Due to the unprecedented nature of my assignment, I knew there was no correct path forward. I therefore approached tasks while scrutinizing my actions and continued to question whether my chosen methods were the best course of action.

However, legal work in Vietnam turned out to be more challenging than I had expected. In any given legal contract, I found discrepancies between the accepted norms for common clauses and phrases, as well as significant differences between the two nations’ business customs and interpretations of legal wording. We had multiple issues to contend with, such as speed during consensus-based decision making and prioritization for contract performance. Additionally, many Group companies did not have legal departments or compliance structures in place, so first we had to cultivate and promote a compliance mindset at Group companies.

There are many additional opportunities when working on the ground. Not only can we participate in daily meetings and share the progress and issues that we’ve encountered, but we can also engage in casual chats and lunches where legal issues can unexpectedly come to light. By delving more deeply into some of the topics discussed casually amongst local staff, I have found discrepancies between the legal practices and business customs of Vietnam and other countries. In one case, I found an issue that could have resulted in a major risk. I think that meeting with regional staff on a regular basis has enabled us to prevent any legal issues from occurring because we can address the root cause of any issue in the early stages. I have experience working across many fields beyond just the law, such as risk management and human capital. My coworkers frequently come to me for advice on a variety of topics and they express their appreciation for my counsel. I believe that I have become better at reading people’s facial expressions and deciphering tone to notice any hesitation or concerns and to anticipate the other party’s unspoken needs. My on-site presence in Vietnam has enabled me to trial new approaches, engage with local staff, and work closely on local issues, thus allowing me to steadily strengthen the foundations of trust.

My mission in Vietnam is to achieve results for all of the Group company initiatives we are working to support. But that is only the first step in my plan. It is vital that I create a legal support system that can continue to function when I leave Vietnam. I think that by establishing a sustainable system for legal work, my successors in Vietnam will be able to work in an optimized environment.

Another goal is to share the experiences I have gained abroad and develop the next generation of talent to build a stronger organization. As for personal goals, I take great pride in having forged my own career path. I hope that my younger colleagues have the same opportunity to choose an area to take on new challenges and seize the chance to grow. Since living in Vietnam, I feel more strongly about enabling colleagues to pursue these growth opportunities. Going forward, I will continue to build upon the experience and trust that I have cultivated in this region and leverage my legal expertise in order to support Sojitz’s business in Vietnam.