We are pleased to share the February 2023 issue of Japan Corporate & Finance Insights. This newsletter is designed to keep you current on what we consider to be important recent legal developments involving Japanese corporate and finance matters.

＜TOPICS＞
SPAC in Japan (By Kosuke Ueno, Komei Matsunaga and Ryohei Akizuki)
A Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) is an acquisition and listing mechanism, developed and largely practiced in the USA, that has attracted attention in recent years because of the advantages such SPACs offer to both privately held companies, such as the potential for an early-listing on a national stock exchange, and to investors, such as the ability to invest in start-ups for a fraction of the amount typically required in the field of venture capital. In recent years, SPACs from overseas have started targeting Japanese companies, prompting official discussions in Japan for the potential introduction of a SPAC system domestically. This newsletter provides a general overview of SPACs and the process involved for SPACs to complete a merger with a target company (the “De-SPAC”), explains the legal issues that SPACs must consider when targeting Japanese companies, and offers insight into the current state of discussions on a potential SPAC system in Japan.