One of Japan’s leading law firms, Nishimura & Asahi, is launching an office in Singapore in the new year.

Partner Kotaro Kubo will lead the Singapore office from January, and will be joined by an associate set to relocate from Tokyo. Kubo is currently on secondment to the Singapore office of Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd. He joined Mitsui in 2010 after a one-year secondment to the Delhi office of Indian law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co.