Nishimura & Asahi, the largest of the Japanese 'big four' firms, has opened its Beijing representative office upon receiving the licence from the Ministry of Justice in April. The Beijing office, the firm's first overseas location, is staffed by partner Saori Okada, who is the chief representative of the new office, and associate Fumiaki Kai.

Nishimura was founded in July 2007 based on the merger of two major Japanese firms. The firm has since sought to enhance its overseas practice and has expanded its networks in Asia. The opening of the Beijing office marks the latest move towards its goal, following the establishment of an alliance with Soga Uryu & Itoga (SUI) for their respective China practices in December 2009.

SUI was formed in 2005 following a merger between Itoga-Soga and Cast Law, and has offices in Beijing and Shanghai. Under the alliance, the two firms' China offices will work on a 'legally non-exclusive basis' alongside each other, but will remain as independent firms.

So far, 13 Japanese firms have established themselves in China with a total of 16 representative offices.