Legal Manager

Position: In-House Legal Counsel — Japan Location: Tokyo, Japan Reporting to: Senior Legal Counsel, APAC

About the Company

Our client is a well-established international retail and lifestyle brand with a significant and growing presence in Japan. With a lean but high-performing Japan team of approximately 210 employees across corporate office and retail locations, this is a business where the legal function carries real influence and visibility.

The Role

This is a standalone in-house legal counsel position, serving as the primary legal point of contact for all Japan operations. You will report directly into the APAC Senior Legal Counsel based in Hong Kong and work closely with commercial and operational stakeholders across the business.

This is a broad and commercially engaged role — not a narrow specialist position. You will be expected to identify, assess, and advise on legal, commercial, and compliance risk across a wide range of matters, and to operate with a high degree of autonomy from day one.

Key Responsibilities:

• Review, negotiate, and manage retail lease agreements with landlords as the company's primary legal contact
• Draft and review a wide range of commercial contracts and legal documents including construction and design agreements, advertising contracts, model agreements, partnership agreements, and general operational documents
• Provide pragmatic legal advice to internal stakeholders on day-to-day commercial and compliance matters
• Support the APAC legal team on cross-border matters as required

Candidate Profile

• 6 to 8 years of legal experience, gained either in-house at a multinational company or in private practice advising multinational, retail, or sports/lifestyle brand clients
• Demonstrated experience across a variety of legal matters — candidates with experience limited solely to intellectual property will not be considered
• Strong commercial instincts and the ability to operate independently as a standalone function
• Business level English essential; higher fluency strongly preferred
• A law degree is preferred; bengoshi qualification is not required
• Retail, brand, or consumer-facing industry experience is an advantage but not mandatory

Compensation & Conditions

• Base salary: up to ¥14,000,000
• Target bonus: 10–15% (total package up to approximately ¥16,000,000)
• Working hours: 9:00–18:00
• Remote working: 1 day per week