›Direct answer & research summary
Sartori & Partners applies a weighted methodology combining practising-lawyer opinion — more than 10,000 lawyers interviewed — with monthly market surveys. The Tokyo Cross-Border Transactions board as of July 2026 comprises: Nishimura & Asahi, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Morrison & Foerster.
01 — The ranking
The Tokyo Cross-Border Transactions board
This board maps the best Cross-Border Transactions law firms in Tokyo into worded tiers as of July 2026. Each band is an editorial judgement of Cross-Border Transactions standing in Tokyo; within a tier no firm outranks another, and monthly order is a locator, not a league table.
Market leaders on this board are the firms that anchor high-stakes Cross-Border Transactions mandates — international M&A and multi-country deal leadership — in Tokyo. Placement is a worded judgement, never a numeric rank.
Firms here maintain a clear, busy Cross-Border Transactions profile in Tokyo. The label is editorial; within-tier order rotates and carries no hierarchy.
Established firms have a verified, durable Cross-Border Transactions footprint in Tokyo, assessed at full tier depth. They sit below the more active bands by editorial judgement, not by score.
All counts are shown as bands, never precise headcounts. Notable firms sit outside the tiers by design: verified minimal presence, not assessed at full tier depth.
Hiring in Tokyo?
We map this market every day.
The evidence behind these tiers is the same intelligence we use to run retained searches for partners, groups and senior associates.
02 — Evidence, methodology & sources why each firm · how tiers are set · sources · change log · verified 23 Jul 2026 · next review 23 Aug 2026
Firm evidence
Nishimura & Asahi
Nishimura & Asahi is placed in market leaders for Cross-Border Transactions in Tokyo. Public mapping (banded): 50–99 attorneys, major local depth, ≈60 partners · 10 counsel · 25+ associates. Evidence gates — office (G1) PASS, local practice (G2) PASS, recent signal (G3) PASS. The placement carries no numeric score.
Strongest mapped work
Public hiring signal
Hiring signal: FLAT — no public hiring change detected in the mapping window.
Limits of this assessment
- —A tier is Sartori’s editorial opinion, not a fact about the firm or a client-satisfaction measure.
- —Facts are mapped from public sources and shown as bands; they lag reality by weeks or months.
- —No third-party legal-directory band is used as an input.
Sources for this entry
- Global Coverage | Nishimura & Asahifirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
- Nishimura & Asahi — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
- Nishimura & Asahi — Tokyo news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
Methodology
How tiers are assigned
Deterministic public-footprint core (local depth, practice share, seniority mix, public hiring momentum), computed relative to this market's own distribution. Tier placement is derived from this public mapped data; a per-firm public-source ledger is compiled for firms in the annual research pass and applies to those firms' factual claims, not to tier membership. No third-party legal-directory bands are used as an input.
Market scope
5–9 firms earn a tier in Tokyo within this scope (banded).
Disclosures
Firm names used nominatively (factual). All counts shown as bands, never precise headcounts. No firm logos. Report an error via the site contact form.
Sources & change log
- 1 Global Coverage | Nishimura & Asahifirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
- 2 Nishimura & Asahi — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
- 3 Nishimura & Asahi — Tokyo news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
- 4 Locations | Anderson Mori & Tomotsunefirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
- 5 Tokyo | Locations | Anderson Mori & Tomotsunefirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
- 6 Services | Anderson Mori & Tomotsunefirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
- 7 ALB Japan Law Awards 2026 | NEWS | Anderson Mori & Tomotsunefirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
- 8 Banking & Finance / Corporate Newsletter - Proposed Beneficial Shareholder Identification System in the Companies Act Reform Package | Insight | Anderson Mori & Tomotsunefirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
- 9 Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu — Tokyo office pagesfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
- 10 Tokyo | Locations | Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsufirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
- 11 Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu — Tokyo news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
- 12 Offices/Locations｜Mori Hamada & Matsumotofirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
- 13 Mori Hamada & Matsumoto — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
- 14 Mori Hamada & Matsumoto — Tokyo news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
- 15 Morrison & Foerster — Tokyo office pagesfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
- 16 Morrison & Foerster — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
- 17 Morrison & Foerster — Tokyo news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
04 — Questions
About this ranking
Who are the best Cross-Border Transactions law firms in Tokyo?
As of July 2026, Nishimura & Asahi, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune occupy Tier 1 — Market leaders — on Sartori's Tokyo Cross-Border Transactions board. That band is an editorial judgement of multi-jurisdictional mandate depth, seniority mix and market standing; full placement of all 5 visible firms is on this page.
Is Nishimura & Asahi the best Cross-Border Transactions law firm in Tokyo?
Nishimura & Asahi sits in Tier 1 — Market leaders — of Sartori's Tokyo Cross-Border Transactions board as of July 2026, alongside Anderson Mori & Tomotsune. Sartori does not name a single #1: the gap between Tier 1 firms is genuinely unmeasurable, and a numeric score would be false precision.
Which firms have the biggest Cross-Border Transactions benches in Tokyo?
By mapped Tokyo bench, the largest firms on this board are Nishimura & Asahi, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune (50–99 mapped lawyers each), followed by Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (25–49). All counts are bands, never precise headcounts.
Which Cross-Border Transactions teams are hiring in Tokyo?
As of July 2026, no firm on this board shows a public hiring signal in the mapping window. Live Tokyo mandates are listed on Sartori's jobs board.
What is a Tier 1 law firm?
In Sartori's rankings, Tier 1 — Market leaders — is an editorial judgement expressed in words, never a score: the firms whose Tokyo bench depth, seniority mix and market standing set the reference point for the market. As of July 2026 that is Nishimura & Asahi, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune. Within the tier no firm outranks another.
Which are the best law firms in Tokyo overall?
Sartori's overall Tokyo board groups 19 firms into editorial tiers; as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is Nishimura & Asahi, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune. See /firms/in/tokyo/.
This ranking is compiled independently by Sartori from public sources. Tiers are Sartori’s editorial opinion, expressed without numeric scores; firms are named for identification only, no logos are reproduced, and no firm has paid for or approved its placement. No third-party legal-directory band is used as an input. Nothing here is legal advice or a recommendation to instruct counsel.