Tax & Legal Inbound Client Services

Insider insights tailored to an outsider perspective

Deloitte Japan’s Tax & Legal Inbound Client Services team ’s experience spans corporate tax, transfer pricing, indirect tax, customs and trade, and individual and employment tax and is underscored by regulatory and legal specialists with relevant industry and practical knowledge.

Tax & Legal Inbound Client Services Team members

Jun Sawada

Partner, Inbound Client Services Leader

Our team is more than just a collection of separate specialties. We go to market as one team, enabling us to cover the specific issues your business may face when operating in Japan without losing sight of the bigger picture. Perhaps most importantly, every member of our team emphasizes personal connection and client trust to help you feel more comfortable and confident doing business in Japan.

Ready to learn what Deloitte Japan can do for your business? Let’s start a conversation.

Please click here to contact Jun by email.

David Bickle

Partner, Business Tax

A UK native brought to Japan by work and rugby (David played several times as part of Japan's national team), he helps enable clients to better evaluate the tax consequences of establishing or expanding a business presence in Japan. He builds and leads teams that ensure overseas­headquartered companies benefit from the best of the country’s talent and meet their expectations for doing business in Japan.

How would you describe in one sentence what Deloitte Japan can do for clients?
We help them to understand not only what Japanese tax law says, but also what it means for their business.

What surprises non-Japanese companies the most about doing business in Japan?
That form and the way you conduct business can be just as important as the substance of what your business does.

Where can you find David when he's off the clock?
Watching rugby and staying strong enough to (occasionally) compete with former teammates.

Please click here to contact David by email.

John Dorff

Partner, Business Process Solutions

John has 25 years' professional experience in Japan. Before becoming a Deloitte Japan partner, he ran his own accounting and consulting firm and served as a board member and/or adviser for more than 150 foreign companies and special-purpose vehicles. The bilingual and bicultural Southern California native knows how to navigate Japan's complex legal, tax, and HR regulations and can help non Japan-based business leaders understand and adapt to the ways of doing business in Japan.

What brought you to Japan and why have you stayed?
I was living in Hokkaido as a church volunteer in college when I decided I wanted to work for a few years in Japan. My family loves it here, and I love my work, and so a few years became a career.

What do you love most about Japanese culture?
What the Japanese call kigatsuku, which is the idea of being aware of others and their spoken and unspoken needs, and acting accordingly.

Where can you find John when he's off the clock?
Researching his ancestors and family history or tending to his farm in Nasu.

Please click here to contact John by email.

Emi Kono

Partner, Family Consulting

Emi has worked in New York, Honolulu, Chicago, London, and Japan during the past 19 years. She has vast experience providing international tax advice on cross-border transactions, business reorganizations, and global tax planning to Japanese multinational companies. Being bilingual helps Emi in her role as a member of Deloitte Private Japan's Family Consulting team, where she consults privately owned businesses on corporate, individual, estate, and inheritance tax planning. She prides herself on providing personalized services for clients who own and manage private businesses.

Japan is one of the best places to ...
Experience traditional values alongside modern lifestyle trends.

What is your favorite place outside of Japan?
Big Island, Hawaii.

What do you love most about the Japanese culture?
The 2,000 years of history and how that is reflected in the culture.

Please click here to contact Emi by email.

Ken Leong

Partner, Business Tax

Ken considers himself more than just a tax adviser. He's a business adviser. Born in Malaysia and raised in Australia, he has spent more than 20 years helping non-Japanese countries establish operations in Japan and prides himself on helping clients navigate the unique challenges that doing business in Japan presents. Paired with an ability to bridge the gap between Western and Japanese business practices and culture, Ken's experience makes him a valuable resource on both tax and nontax issues.

What do you love most about Japanese culture?
The sense of community, safety, and respect for people.

Where can you find Ken when he's off the clock?
Exploring Tokyo. Even after 20 years here, there are still new things to discover.

What is your favorite place in Japan?
Kanazawa, a town on the Sea of Japan, which has the country's best seafood.

Please click here to contact Ken by email.

Fumiko Mizoguchi

Partner, Indirect Tax

Fumiko helps clients mitigate compliance burdens and tax liabilities through the timely handling of the increasingly complicated Japanese Consumption Tax rules around rate hikes, multirates, new invoice systems, and rules for digital supplies. Born in Japan, Fumiko studied in London and spent more than a decade working in Germany. She has a knack for making connections with non-Japan-based clients while sharing a sound knowledge of Japanese law and culture.

What do you love most about Japanese culture?
Japanese gardens and punctuality.

Where can you find Fumiko when she's off the clock?
Growing roses and herbs, painting, knitting, or learning Italian.

What is your favorite book?
The Chrysanthemum and the Sword by Ruth Benedict.

Please click here to contact Fumiko by email.

Kaori Oka

Partner, Attorney-at-law

With international transaction experience that ranges from daily contract negotiation to M&A deals, Kaori uses a strong network of legal professionals and service providers to help provide clients with holistic legal support. Kaori, a Japanese native who has lived in the United States and Hong Kong, uses a deep understanding of possible actions by Japanese regulatory authorities while serving as a guide to traditional Japanese views and business practices for non-Japan-based clients.

What do you love most about Japanese culture?
The emphasis on doing things the riight way.

Japan is one of the best places to …
...try delicious food of all kinds, from one-dollar snacks to high-end meals.

What is your favorite TV show?
BBC's Sherlock Holmes.

Please click here to contact Kaori by email.

May Myat Thu

Partner, Global Employer Services

May is a multilingual tax professional who uses her extensive global mobility experience to serve overseas-headquartered clients with large mobile populations in Japan. She helps clients with their tax and immigration compliance obligations and with making a seamless transition for individuals relocating to Japan. Born in Myanmar and raised in Japan, May is a globetrotter who has also lived in the United States, United Kingdom, and Thailand.

What do you love most about Japanese culture?
Its emphasis on hospitality and a creative design sense that fuses East and West.

What surprises non-Japanese companies the most about doing business in Japan?
The detailed analogue processes, both in daily life and in business.

Japan is one of the best places to…
...enjoy the four seasons and the cuisine that comes with them.

Please click here to contact May by email.

Hiroshi Ueda

Partner, Business Process Solutions

Born and raised in Osaka, Hiroshi has lived, worked, and studied in both Japan and the United States. He views the Deloitte Japan team as one that can help translate local laws and practices into formats that non- Japan-based companies are more familiar with and his role as connecting with clients on a personal level. He not only has a knack for helping establish high-quality professional services, but also one for proposing innovative ways to execute projects and form teams.

What do you love most about the Japanese business community?
It's sustainable, reliable, and an excellent place to generate strong cash flow.

What surprises non-Japanese companies the most about doing business in Japan?
Japan's system appears rigid on the surface. But there's flexibility just below.

Japan is one of the best places to ...
…experience that sustainability is profitable.

Please click here to contact Hiroshi by email.

Tax & Legal knowledge/insights

• Japan Tax & Legal Inbound Newsletter
  Bulletin of Japanese tax and legal developments of interest to foreign multinationals in Japan.
• Japan Tax & Legal Inbound Podcast Series
  On this page, we are explaining the Japanese tax and legal news and our services that are useful to Japan inbound client via the video/audio, “Dbriefs Podcasts”.
• Deloitte International Tax Source（DITS）
  Online database featuring tax rates and information for 66 jurisdictions worldwide and country tax highlights for more than 130 jurisdictions.