2025 ICC Tokyo Arbitration Day

21 Apr 2025

Tokyo English and Japanese
Start: 12:15 (Event’s time zone) - End: 20:30 (Event’s time zone)

ICC DRS and ICC Japan are delighted to organize their annual ICC Tokyo Arbitration Day – an influential regional conference focused on Japan and related markets. The 3rd edition will take place on 21 April 2025. 

Mark your calendar and don’t miss this must attend conference to keep up-to-date with the latest North Asian and Japanese developments in international arbitration.

Objective/Who should attend?

  • Practising lawyers;
  • Corporate counsel;
  • Arbitrators;
  • Mediators;
  • All practitioners who are interested in Japanese and Japanese-related markets.

(Tokyo Time Zone)

12:15-13:00

Registration
  • Master of Ceremony Ms. Seri Takahasi, Partner, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Tokyo

13:00-13:20

Opening Speech

  • Harumichi Uchida, Chair, ICC Japan Arbitration Committee; Partner, TMI Associates, Tokyo      
  • Dr. Donna Huang, Director, Arbitration and ADR, North Asia, ICC Dispute Resolution Services, Shanghai

13:20-13:30

Welcoming Remarks

  • Yoshiyuki Tsutsumi, Assistant Vice Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice of Japan, Tokyo

13:30-13:50

Keynote Speech  

  • Mr. Alexander Fessas, Secretary General ICC International Court of Arbitration; Director, ICC Dispute Resolution Services, Paris

13:50-15:20

Panel I

Triangle Dialogues between ICC, Japanese In-house and External Counsel: Effective Communication and Strategic Planning on Key Issues of Dispute Prevention and Resolution

 

The close interaction between in-house and external counsel and arbitration institutions such as the ICC Court, lays the foundation for cross-border business. Effective communication and strategic planning between these stakeholders will ensure that companies can prevent disputes in their business transaction and can seekremedy in dispute resolution. This session will be hosted in an innovative format of triangle dialogues to discuss the key issues in dispute prevention and resolution for Japanese companies.

 

This session will cover the following key issues that companies may commonly confront:

  1. Interactions between in-house counsel and external counsel
  2. Interactions between arbitration lawyers and corporate lawyers
  3. The role of the ICC Court
  4. Expedited procedures
  5. Cost of the arbitration process
  6. Application of Alternative Dispute Resolution

Panelists:

  • Mitsuru Claire Chino, (FCIArb), Managing Executive Officer, ITOCHU Corporation, Tokyo; Attorney at Law, California
  • Alexander G. Fessas, Secretary General ICC International Court of Arbitration; Director, ICC Dispute Resolution Services
  • Tomoya Hashimoto, Deputy General Manager, Legal Dept, MARUBENI Corporation, Tokyo
  • Ben Jolley, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehils, Tokyo
  • Tomoki Yanagisawa, Partner, TMI Associates, Tokyo

Moderator: 

  • Chié Nakahara, Partner, Nishimura Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyou), Tokyo

15:20-15:45

Coffee break

15:45-17:05

Panel II: Navigating the Crossroads of Disputes in the Infrastructure Industry: Dispute Boards and Arbitration

In the dynamic and high-stakes world of infrastructure industry, where precision and collaboration underpin success, disputes are an inevitable reality. For global leaders like Japanese contractors, the choice of dispute resolution mechanism becomes not merely a procedural question but a strategic decision—one that can shape the outcome of multimillion-dollar projects. This panel explores how these mechanisms, guided by frameworks such as the ICC Dispute Board Rules, ICC Rules of Arbitration, ICC Guide on Effective Conflict Management can be effectively applied to manage and resolve disputes. This panel will discuss the strategic application of dispute boards (DB) as well as other procedural steps leading up to and including arbitration, and bring the practical insights for the Japan-related infrastructure industry. The focuses of this panel’s discussion will include tiered dispute resolution clauses, terms and conditions of the DB, the role played by arbitration lawyers in the operation of the DB, and the possibility of arbitration in the event of an appeal against the decision of the DB.

Panelists:

  • Peter Harris, Partner, Clifford Chance, Tokyo
  • Nicholas Lingard, Partner, Freshfields, Singapore
  • Shingo Ohno, Senior Managing Consultant, Systech International, Yokohama
  • Toshihiko Omoto, Distinguished Professor of Graduate School of Management (MBA), Kyoto University, Kyoto
  • Christopher Rowden, Principal, CDI Lawyers,  Brisbane
  • Kaori Sugimoto, Partner , Nagashima Ohno & Tunematsu, Tokyo

    Moderator: 

    • Bruno Savoie, Legal Counsel, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Tokyo

     17:05-18:25

    Panel III:

    FAQ from In-house lawyers to Arbitrators.

    Spotlight on various items including Interim Measures: Must-know Practices and Skills to Develop

    In this panel, panelists including In-house lawyers and practitioners will discuss the must-know practices in international arbitration and exchange their experiences and queries that they had in actual arbitration. This will include various matters, such as interim measures in arbitration which are usually taken in urgent circumstances to prevent possible damage or to preserve evidence that may be lost. Basic queries and ideas might also be posed from the audiences.

    Panelists:

    • Daniel Allen, Partner, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Tokyo
    • Toshimi Itakura, General Manager, Legal Department, Sojitz Corporation, Tokyo
    • Chan Leng Sun SC, Senior Counsel and Chartered Arbitrator, Duxton Hill Chambers, Singapore
    • Yoko Maeda, Partner, City-Yuwa Partners, Tokyo
    • John Ribeiro, Senior Legal Counsel, INPEX Corporation, Tokyo
    • Louise Stoupe, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Tokyo

    Moderator:

    • Aoi Inoue, Partner, Head of International Arbitration, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Tokyo

     18:25-18:30

    Closing remarks

    18:45-19:00

    Relocation to Miyabi Room 3rd floor

    19:00-20:30

    Reception

     

     

     

    Daniel Allen

    Partner, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Tokyo

    Chan Leng Sun SC

    Senior Counsel and Chartered Arbitrator, Duxton Hill Chambers, Singapore

    Mitsuru Claire Chino

    Managing Executive Officer, ITOCHU Corporation, Tokyo; Attorney at Law, California

    Alexander G. Fessas

    Secretary General ICC International Court of Arbitration; Director, ICC Dispute Resolution Services, Paris

    Peter Harris

    Partner, Clifford Chance, Tokyo

    Tomoya Hashimoto

    Deputy General Manager, Legal Dept, MARUBENI Corporation, Tokyo

    Dr. Donna Huang

    Director, Arbitration and ADR, North Asia, ICC Dispute Resolution Services, Shanghai

    Aoi Inoue

    Partner, Head of International Arbitration, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Tokyo

    Toshimi Itakura

    General Manager, Legal Department, Sojitz Corporation, Tokyo

    Ben Jolley

    Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills, Tokyo

    Nicholas Lingard

    Partner, Freshfields, Singapore

    Yoko Maeda

    Partner, City-Yuwa Partners

    Chié Nakahara

    Partner, Nishimura Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyou), Tokyo

    Shingo Ohno

    Senior Managing Consultant, Systech International, Yokohama

    Dr. Toshihiko Omoto

    Distinguished Professor of Graduate School of Management (MBA), Kyoto University, Kyoto

    John Ribeiro

    Senior Legal Counsel, INPEX Corporation, Tokyo

    Christopher Rowden

    Principal, CDI Lawyers, Brisbane

    Bruno Savoie

    Legal Counsel, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Tokyo

    Kaori Sugimoto

    Partner, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Tokyo

    Louise Stoupe

    Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Tokyo

    Seri Takahashi

    Partner, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Tokyo

    Harumichi Uchida

    Chair, ICC Japan Arbitration Committee; Partner, TMI Associates, Tokyo

    Tomoki Yanagisawa

    Partner, TMI Associates, Tokyo

    Venue

    Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan

    1 Chome-1-1 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-8558, Japan

    Registration information

    GDPR Clause: When you click to register for the event above, you leave the ICC website and are redirected to the registration platform used by the event co-organizer. Your personal information will be collected by this registration platform and the event co-organizer in accordance with their own privacy policies. Among other things, the privacy policy provides that the event co-organizer will share your personal data with ICC for the purpose of providing event services, in which case the ICC Privacy policy will also apply.

    Anran Zhang Deputy Director, Arbitration and ADR, North Asia, ICC Dispute Resolution Services

    +86 187 21500898

    Anran.zhang@iccwbo.org

    Please contact ICC DRS North Asia at iccdrs-northasia@iccwbo.org for further information. 

    BENEFITS

    PLATINUM 

    JPY 1,500K 

    HT

    GOLD 

    JPY 900 K

    HT

    SILVER

    JPY 675K

    HT

    BRONZE 

    JPY 450 K

    HT

    Exclusive evening reception sponsor (as available) **

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    Opportunity to host a social side event**

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    Invitation to participate as guest contributor on the ICC blog on a topic related to the event*

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    Strategic logo placement in banners & collaterals

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    Testimonial quote on the event page*

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    Company video to be played during session breaks (including subtitles)*

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    Opportunity to sponsor a lunch (as available) **

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    Participants list available in priority

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    Opportunity to provide Lanyards OR Notebooks & Pens OR Water Bottles OR Delegate Bags OR Mobile Charging Stations (as available)**

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    Opportunity to sponsor a coffee break (as available) **

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    Exhibition space + exhibitor pass 
    (Table maybe shared depending on availability)

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    Include a branded item in the participant bags**

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    Pre-event introduction to participants

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    Complimentary registration 

    5

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    Sponsor recognition on ICC arbitration social media channels

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    Use of the official event information 

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    Signage at venue + logo on all digital & onsite promotional materials

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