Leaders in Law, the leading platform in its field, is delighted to endorse Kaoru Haraguchi as our exclusive International Succession Law member in Japan.
Kaoru Haraguchi, founding partner, dedicated himself not only to studying every day but also to playing ping-pong as a player representing Tokyo (his best rank was 2nd in Tokyo) when he attended Komaba Toho High School, dreaming of beating Chinese players.
In those days, Mao Ze Dong, who specified ping-pong as the national sport, agitated the Great Cultural Revolution. As a result, strong Chinese players like Zhuang Ze Dong and Li Jingguang were forced to disappear from the world stage, and Japanese players once again reached the top of the world. In a short time, however, Chinese players returned to compete for the top spot in the world with Japanese players. (For example, one Japanese player who participated in the inter-high school tournament in Fukuoka later defeated a Chinese player to become a World Cup champion.)
However, the Japanese came to understand the fundamental power of China. The socialist country increased its population of ping-pong players to 100 million and sought excellent players nationwide to enhance national dignity. They invented a “quick attack in front” strategy (rallying at the front line, sticking to the table) and developed a no-revolving rubber racket with the assistance of sports scientists to claim the title of “kingdom of ping-pong” and widen the gap with Japan.
He acquired the ability to reflect on his relationship with China and understand the genuine national power of China from his devotion to ping-pong.
When Mr. Haraguchi became a lawyer, the bar exam pass rate was only 1.7%, meaning that only one out of 60 people could pass. In those days, lawyers were said to be well-off for life with no competition and retirement.
However, Mr. Haraguchi realised that a lawyer, which is essentially a service industry, would not be protected by difficult, highly competitive examinations forever. Therefore, he always considered establishing his specialty to strengthen his position in case competition became tougher.
As a result, the first area Mr. Haraguchi chose to strengthen was finance for developing countries.
The reason was that when he met a Mexican public official during his legal apprenticeship, he was told that Mexico could build a dam and a generator to develop their country if Japan provided financial support. He then began to desire to work with them.
Therefore, he joined a law firm strong in finance, studied at the University of Chicago, famous for its finance subjects, worked in a New York law firm strong in finance for Latin America, and a London law firm strong in finance for Eastern Europe. He was also dispatched to the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, which operated yen finance focused on developing countries.
However, while working in various workplaces, Mr. Haraguchi realised that finance for developing countries usually adopted US or British law as governing law and was written in English, leaving little room for Japanese lawyers strong in Japanese law and language.
At that time, the law firm to which Mr. Haraguchi belonged rapidly increased its work in securitising Japanese financial assets in the Euro market. Mr. Haraguchi, who could explain Japanese law in English with no difficulty after spending significant time studying abroad and working in the US and UK, became involved in the securitisation of financial assets.
It was the first time Mr. Haraguchi realised that the work of lawyers was essentially passive and that necessary expertise always changes as society changes.
At the same time, he concluded that the core value of lawyers is flexibility — the ability to adapt to social changes and always be prepared to respond to such changes. (The bestseller at that time, Who Moved My Cheese?, influenced his idea.)
Thereafter, Mr. Haraguchi built his reputation as an expert in the securitisation of consumer loan credit in the Euro market and has continued to develop new areas after the Lehman Shock.
Though clients’ evaluations of Mr. Haraguchi change from time to time, the unchanged remarks are as follows:
“You are reliable.” “You won’t give up.” “You are patient.” “You have concentration.”
Mr. Haraguchi believes that his ability to adapt to social changes, combined with patience and concentration to overcome various difficulties arising in the process, is his strongest point.
To enhance his patience and concentration, Mr. Haraguchi has made efforts to maintain and strengthen his physical strength. He was even ranked in the top eight in the Eastern Japan Tennis Tournament for Lawyers, despite having started tennis only a few years ago.
If you have require assistance in this area, please contact Kaoru directly or the Leaders in Law head office: info@leaders-in-law.com
