Since joining the firm in 2001, Tomoki Debari has been involved principally in the fields of insurance, banking, securities and asset management, as well as M&A projects involving insurance companies and other financial institutions. He has extensive experience representing Japanese and foreign insurance companies in various matters in Japan, including:
- formation of branches, subsidiaries and insurance joint venture companies in Japan and applications for insurance business licenses;
- acquisition of shares in insurance companies and/or portfolio transfers;
- demutualization and other structural changes, including conversion of Japanese branches into subsidiaries licensed to conduct insurance business;
- strategic alliances and mergers involving insurance companies;
- outbound investment and/or formation of joint ventures in the U.S., Europe and Asia (including Vietnam, Turkey, Thailand and Singapore) by Japanese insurers;
- development of new life and non-life product lines;
- asset management (including real estate, funds and various derivative transactions);
- reinsurance transactions and ancillary hedging transactions;
- ongoing advice on all major issues relating to the Insurance Business Act and Insurance Contract Act;
- litigation and alternative dispute resolution (including disputes relating to reinsurance);
- FSA inspections.
As an additional area of specialization, Mr. Debari has also developed extensive expertise in environmental law matters. He assisted Japan's Environmental Ministry in its development of the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act of Japan, adopted in 2002, and since then has advised clients on a wide variety of environmental issues, including:
- development of environment impairment liability policies and environment remediation expense policies for several insurance companies;
- numerous real estate projects in which analysis and management of environmental risks played a key role, including sales, transfers, securitizations and M&A transactions;
- global studies by clients in the areas of soil, groundwater, and air contamination (including one such study for a major U.S. airline);
- development by clients of emergency reaction and contingency plans against soil and groundwater contamination; and
- dispute resolution (including both litigation and alternative mechanisms) regarding environmental issues between joint venture partners, as well as with local governments and the public.
