Senior Counsel, Japan

The role

This person will serve as a subject-matter anchor for Japan legal matters and support the global commercial legal team. They will handle Japan-specific regulatory work and cross-border commercial transactions.

What you will do

• Act as subject-matter anchor for Japan legal matters.
• Monitor and advise on the Japanese legal and regulatory environment.
• Coordinate and manage external Japanese counsel.
• Support Japan corporate and entity-level matters.
• Liaise with internal teams and Japanese regulatory authorities.
• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts.
• Provide practical, business-oriented legal advice to internal clients.
• Work with stakeholders to move from legal analysis to implementation.
• Contribute to the development of contract templates and playbooks.
• Identify legal and regulatory risks and develop mitigation strategies.

Required qualifications

• LL.B., LL.M., or J.D. degree.
• 5-10 years of post-qualification experience (PQE).
• Good working knowledge of the Japanese legal and regulatory environment for digital and platform businesses.
• Native fluency in Japanese.
• Professional fluency in English.
• Commercial mindset.
• Sound independent judgment.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, international environment.
• Ability to work across time zones with a geographically distributed team.

Nice to have

• Registration as a bengoshi (弁護士) with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
• A mix of law firm and in-house experience at a multinational technology, e-commerce, or OTA company.
• Experience with travel, technology, online platforms, or another regulated digital business.
• Strong academic credentials and experience working in a top-tier law firm and/or in-house legal team at a multinational company.
• Experience of contributing to policies, procedures, training materials, playbooks, or templates.
• Experience of using AI tools in an efficient and scalable manner.

About the company

Agoda is part of Booking Holdings and connects people to destinations and experiences through hotels, flights, and experiences. The company uses data and technology to fuel curiosity and innovation.