Masahiko (Masa) Ishida has 20 years’ experience of helping multinational clients with a wide range of M&A, PE/VC investments, capital markets transactions and other corporate governance matters.

He is admitted to practice in both Japan and New York so he provides high quality bilingual advice to multinational clients on Japanese legal matters, and to Japanese clients on cross-border projects.

Masa is widely regarded as a trusted advisor and leading practitioner in cross-border transactions and has advised many leading multinational and Japanese clients on high-profile matters. Recent examples include a large acquisition in 15 jurisdictions by a Japanese life sciences company, a significant equity investment in a large Japanese listed life sciences company by one of the largest multinational financial institutions, the first VC investment in Japan by a well-known multinational venture capital company, and the first listing on Nasdaq by a Japanese technology company in the 21st century.

Masa is known for giving practical legal advice based on commercial insight, having spent time out of the law working as an investment banker in the US and Japan. He also worked previously for one of the most respected large Japanese law firms. He combines this experience and his commercial knowledge with deep insight into the Japanese market and offshore markets.

Masa has been appointed in a number of prestigious positions by the Japanese government and public institutions. These have included his appointments by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as Outside Legal Counsel for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He is the only lawyer to have been appointed as a member of the Cool Japan Inbound Investment Growth Committee, organized by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Masa has also served in a number of other external roles. He was a Fulbright fellow during his studies at Columbia Law School and served as a Visiting Fellow at Columbia Business School (The Center on Japanese Economy and Business). He is currently an auditor for the Fulbright Alumni Association of Japan and a regular speaker at seminars and conferences.

Masa believes strongly in the importance of physical and mental health for long-term success. He is passionate about good food, drink and exercise, and holds a black belt in both karate and judo. Masa has run in several marathon races including the Tokyo Marathon and his next goal is to complete all of the World Marathon Majors.

DLA Piper Tokyo Managing Partner ranked highest among international law firms in Nikkei’s 2025 Best Performing Lawyers

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