Focus

Asahi Yamashita has served as Representative Director of ClientEarth Japan (Ippan Shadan Hojin ClientEarth) since April 2026. Since beginning his work as a legal advisor to ClientEarth UK in January 2021, he has spent more than five years advancing legal and policy initiatives to address climate change and support the transition to a decarbonised society.

He currently specialises in the climate change and sustainability-related aspects of Japan’s Companies Act, Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, Corporate Governance Code and Stewardship Code. In particular, his work focuses on investor stewardship activities, including the exercise of shareholder proposal rights; sustainability disclosures under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act; the Sustainability Standards Board of Japan (SSBJ) Standards; international climate-related disclosure standards; and corporate governance frameworks that support the achievement of sustainability objectives. He approaches these issues from both legal and policy perspectives.

He supports civil society organisations and institutional investors in engaging with companies and exercising their rights, and collaborates with government bodies to encourage stronger corporate climate action and accelerate the transition to clean energy.

Experience

Asahi has practised law for nearly 30 years, working on a wide range of domestic and international matters, primarily in the areas of investment, finance, corporate law and regulation. Drawing on his ability to work in both Japanese and English, his knowledge of multiple legal systems and his deep understanding of different cultures, he has held legal and management roles in international environments throughout his career.

He served as Deputy General Counsel at Aflac Life Insurance Japan for eight years and as Executive Officer for three years. Prior to that, he worked at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in San Francisco in the mid-1990s. He subsequently helped establish the firm’s Tokyo office as one of its founding partners and led the office as a partner for more than a decade.

He currently also serves as a Director of Corporate Action Japan.

Education

Asahi graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo in 1986. He is a member of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. He is a native Japanese speaker and is fluent in English.