Kenji Taneda

Mr. Taneda has significant experience advising on a wide variety of corporate matters in Japan and abroad, including equity and debt offerings by Japanese corporations, financial institutions and sovereign entities, as well both public and private cross-border M&A transactions.

In recognition of his work, Mr. Taneda is ranked Band 1 by Chambers Asia Pacific 2025 for Capital Markets in Japan and has been repeatedly recognized as a leading lawyer in the sector by Chambers Global and Best Lawyers. He was also ranked as a Leading Partner: Gaiben for capital markets by The Legal 500 in 2025 and listed as Highly Regarded for Japan M&A and capital markets by IFLR1000 in 2024. In addition, he was named Lawyer of the Year for Tokyo Capital Markets Law by Best Lawyers 2023 and was recognized by the Asia Business Law Journal as part of its Japan A-List in 2022.

Mr. Taneda’s representations in capital markets matters (including his prior experience) include:

• Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Mizuho Securities USA LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Nomura Securities International, Inc., as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners in the US$2 billion offering of 6.200% step-up callable perpetual subordinated notes with interest deferral options by The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited. The notes were listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange
• Sanrio Company, Ltd., the owner of Hello Kitty and designer and developer of other characters and entertainment products, in its ¥135 billion (US$864 million) secondary offering of common stock
• J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC as lead underwriters in a US$500 million Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of 5.000% senior notes due 2029 by Mitsubishi Corporation. The notes were listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange
• NTT Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (Japan), in its US$2.3 billion Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of senior notes in three tranches: US$600 million of 5.104% senior notes due 2027, US$900 million of 5.110% senior notes due 2029 and US$850 million of 5.136% senior notes due 2031. The notes were listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange
• Astroscale Holdings, Inc. (Japan) in its US$153 million initial public offering of its common stock and listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. This was the first IPO by a space debris removal company
• Trial Holdings Inc. (Japan) in its ¥38.9 billion (US$258 million) initial public offering and listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. This is the largest IPO completed in Japan so far in 2024
• Daiwa Capital Markets Europe Limited, Barclays Bank PLC, Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Nomura International plc as underwriters in a US$1 billion offering of 4.375% government guaranteed bonds due 2031 by Japan Bank of International Cooperation. The notes were listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange
• J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. as lead underwriters in a US$1.04 billion Rule 144A offering of 5.875% step-up callable perpetual subordinated notes due 2034 by Sumitomo Life Insurance Company (Japan). The notes were listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange
• Nomura International plc, Daiwa Capital Market Europe Ltd., and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc as the international managers in the US$1.3 billion follow-on offering of common stock by Socionext Inc. (Japan)
• the underwriters in the US$459 million global IPO of Socionext Inc. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
• the underwriters in a US$500 million government guaranteed bonds offering by Japan Bank for International Cooperation
• the underwriters in the US$1.35 billion senior notes offering by Renesas Electronics Corporation
• DENSO Corporation in its US$500 million senior unsecured green notes offering
• the underwriters in the US$900 million step-up subordinated unsecured notes offering by Nippon Life Insurance Company
• Simplex Holdings, Inc. in its ¥33.5 billion global IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
• the underwriters in the ¥228.8 billion offering of common stock by West Japan Railway Company
• the underwriters in the ¥75.4 billion offering of common stock by Showa Denko K.K.
• the underwriters in the ¥46.4 billion offering of common shares by OBIC Business Consultants Co., Ltd.
• the underwriters in the US$500 million senior notes offering by Mitsubishi Corporation
• the underwriters in the ¥395 billion global offering of common stock of Renesas Electronics Corporation
• the underwriters in the US$920 million step-up callable subordinated notes offering by Sumitomo Life Insurance Company
• NTT Finance Corporation in its US$8 billion and €2 billion senior notes offering
• the underwriters in the ¥167.6 billion global equity offering of Japan Airlines
• the underwriters in the ¥22.9 billion global IPO of PLAID Inc. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
• the underwriters in the ¥120.7 billion global equity offering of Nippon Building Fund Inc.
• Open House Co., Ltd. in its ¥40.5 billion global equity offering
• freee K.K. in its ¥35 billion global IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
• Appier Group, Inc. in its ¥29.8 billion IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
• Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. in its ¥359.5 billion global equity offering, which was named Equity Deal of the Year for 2019 at the 2020 ALB Japan Law Awards
• Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. in its ¥339.9 billion global equity offering
• Mercari Inc. in its ¥130.7 billion global IPO, which was named one of Asian-MENA Counsel magazine’s Deals of the Year for 2018
• ARTERIA Networks Corporation in its ¥21.9 billion global IPO
• the underwriters in the ¥48.4 billion global IPO of WORLD Co., Ltd.
• the underwriters in the ¥37.1 billion global equity offering of OUTSOURCING Inc.
• Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company in its US$2 billion and US$1 billion overseas hybrid debt offerings
• Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited in its $910 million overseas hybrid debt offering
• Toyota Industries Corporation in its US$1 billion and US$600 million senior notes offerings
• Invesco Office J-REIT, Inc. in its ¥22.7 billion global equity offering
• Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited in its US$500 million senior notes offering
• the underwriters in the ¥41.6 billion global IPO of LIXIL VIVA CORPORATION
• the underwriters on multiple overseas hybrid debt offerings by Nippon Life Insurance Company
• the underwriters in hybrid debt offerings by Sumitomo Life Insurance Company in 2013 and 2017
• the ¥44.0 billion, ¥56.8 billion, ¥36.3 billion and ¥34.3 billion global equity offerings by Daiwa House REIT Investment Corporation
• LaSalle LOGIPORT REIT in its ¥105 billion global IPO and its ¥46.3 billion global equity offering
• Mixi, Inc. in its ¥32.1 billion overseas offering of common stock
• the underwriters in a ¥113 billion overseas offering of common stock by Olympus Corporation
• SoftBank Group Corp. in a US$2.485 billion and a €625 million high-yield bond offering; and as major shareholder in Alibaba Group’s US$168 billion IPO
• Hulic Reit, Inc. in its ¥70.2 billion global IPO and ¥18.4 billion follow-on global equity offering
• selling shareholder in a ¥155 billion global IPO of Seibu Holdings, Inc.
• selling shareholder in a ¥81.6 billion global IPO of Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.
• the underwriters, as sole U.S. counsel, on the last 16 SEC-registered bond offerings of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (guaranteed by the Japanese government) since 2013
• the underwriters in the US$500 million SEC-registered bond offerings of Japan International Cooperation Agency (guaranteed by the Japanese government) in 2016 and 2017
• Invincible Investment Corporation in six global equity offerings in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019
• Mori Hills REIT Corporation in two global equity offerings in 2014 and 2016
• NIPPON REIT Investment Corporation in its ¥24.8 billion global equity offering
• Japan Rental Housing Investments Inc. in its ¥40.6 billion global equity offering
• Japan Airlines in its US$8.5 billion global IPO
• Nippon Prologis REIT, Inc. in its US$1.08 billion IPO
• the underwriters in the US$2.25 billion global IPO of Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd.
• INPEX Corporation in a US$6 billion global equity offering

Mr. Taneda’s representative M&A matters (including his prior experience) include:

• FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation in its acquisition of Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. by a U.S. public tender offer
• GungHo Online Entertainment Co., Ltd. in its acquisition of a majority stake in Supercell
• M3, Inc. in the U.S. law aspects of its acquisition of Mediscience Plannings, Inc.
• SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., as financial advisor to Panasonic Information Systems Co., Ltd., in its acquisition of outstanding minority investments by Panasonic Corporation
• Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in its acquisition of the outstanding minority interests of UnionBanCal Corporation through a going-private U.S. public tender offer
• Suzuki Metal Industry Co., Ltd. in its acquisition of Haldex AB
• Nippon Steel Corporation in various joint venture matters in the U.S. and Brazil
• Panasonic Corporation in its acquisition of the outstanding minority interests in its subsidiaries SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. and Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd.
• Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in certain aspects of its Japanese securities business joint ventures with Morgan Stanley

Mr. Taneda was a partner at the Tokyo office of a large international law firm prior to joining Skadden.