"I thought you didn't want to be a partner" - Maya Ito heard these stunning words at a meeting to discuss her firm’s view that her lack of career progression at Big Four law firm Nishimura & Asahi, was simply because she had children. Plot spoiler: she's now a partner at that same firm, she’s leading cross-border project finance deals, and all the while, she’s running an almost entirely female team. Maya shares a deeply personal story of utter loss that forever changed how she approaches every single day of her life, reveals the Japanese warrior philosophy that defines her service to clients, and also explains why monthly team lunches replaced late-night drinking sessions. If you are looking up at senior partners wondering how they got there, or simply want to know what it really takes to sustain a career in Big Law while living with no regrets, grab your headphones and get ready to get to know Maya Ito in a way you never have before.

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and we’d love it if you would leave us a message here!

In this episode you’ll hear:

• Parental expectations that shaped her legal career and how she overcame them

• A profound personal loss that became a turning point that guides her actions every day

• The "kagemusha" philosophy of lawyering as a shadow ally

• How Maya runs her all female team and makes time for her own life too

• Her favourite podcasts, books and other fun facts

About Maya

Maya Ito is a partner at Nishimura & Asahi. She has extensive expertise in cross-border project financing for various natural resources, power projects, and other infrastructure projects. Her experience also extends to areas such as compliance, cross-border financial transactions, cross-border corporate transactions, and other general corporate matters.

Maya has extensive experience advising international investors on cross-border renewable energy projects, as well as advising both borrowers and lenders on financing for renewable energy projects in Japan. She previously worked in the cross-border project finance team of a Japanese megabank, handling matters relating to natural resources, power and energy, and infrastructure. Maya has also provided banks, financial institutions, and other corporate clients, most of which operate their businesses globally, with compliance and regulatory advice, as well as advice on a variety of governance matters. She is actively involved in D&I projects aimed at promoting the active participation of women, and has organized numerous D&I seminars and other similar events for corporations. She is also actively involved in Climate Change related projects and has organized Climate Change seminars and events.

In her free time Maya likes to play golf and she usually plays golf with her colleagues, clients and her family. Maya also has two cute toy poodles (Tarao and Ikura). The poodles’ names come from a famous Japanese Anime, “Sazae-san” and they give Maya a sense of “iyashi” (癒し) meaning “soothing and solace”.

Connect with Maya

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maya-ito-278b1863/

Links

Kagemusha: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagemusha

Ikikata Book: https://amzn.asia/d/ew7DMGc 　　

Connect with Catherine

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair

Liting Cong is Legal Counsel at ASICS, one of Japan’s most successful sportswear companies. Liting shares her journey through the lens of Japanese aesthetics, particularly the concept of wabi-sabi or embracing imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness. If you're considering an in-house career in Japan, curious about human-centric AI, or looking for wisdom on embracing life's uncertainties, you will enjoy the metaphor Liting shares about building a beautiful garden. More on that inside this episode!

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and we’d love it if you would leave us a message here!

In this episode you’ll hear:

• How Japanese martial arts and dance became a source of peace and resilience during challenging times

• The evolution of in-house counsel roles beyond gatekeeping and contract review

• Practical strategies for unlearning perfectionism that Liting uses herself at work

• Why ideation is a lawyer's secret weapon in the age of AI

• Liting’s favourite book and other fun facts

About Liting

Liting Cong is a Legal Counsel at ASICS Corporation, where she leads global privacy, AI governance, and digital initiatives in the Legal Department. She graduated from Grinnell College in 2011, and University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 2014. She was admitted to the bar in Ontario in 2015, and in New York in 2019. Before relocating to Japan, Liting gained diverse international experience at King & Wood in Shanghai, Shin & Kim in Seoul, and Stikeman & Elliott in Toronto, and started her own practice as a sole practitioner in Toronto.

In addition to her legal credentials, Liting is a data protection professional with multiple certifications from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) for European privacy (CIPP/E), privacy program management (CIPM), and artificial intelligence governance (AIGP).

With over a decade of experience living and working in Canada and Japan, Liting brings not only legal expertise but also fluency in the languages--English, Chinese, and Japanese--and a deep understanding of cross-cultural business environments.

In 2018, as an avid fan of Japanese arts and culture since childhood, Liting relocated to Japan. She joined Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation in Osaka as Legal Counsel, and later SymBio Pharmaceuticals Limited in Tokyo as Legal Manager.

In 2023, Liting joined ASICS Corporation in its global headquarters in Kobe. She now serves as the lead in global privacy and AI governance and managing ASICS’ digital initiatives across the globe.

Liting lives in Osaka with her husband and a cat who enjoys making cameos in Teams calls and supervising all her legal work.

Connect with Liting

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/litingcong/

Links

Gokan: https://patisserie-gokan.co.jp/item/

The Cultural Map by Erin Meyer https://amzn.asia/d/9w9muCI

Connect with Catherine

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair

Yu Watanabe is General Counsel at Airbnb Japan, where he has spent over 10 years building one of the most respected in-house legal teams in the country. From training at Freshfields to navigating the world of tech startups at DeNA, and ultimately joining Airbnb, Yu's career embodies the power of taking calculated risks and listening to the right mentors. This episode is rich with wisdom about mentorship, community involvement, and finding success by focusing completely on serving your clients. If you are wondering how Yu stands out as such a star in the world of Tokyo Law, this is the episode for you.

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and we’d love it if you would leave us a message here!

In this episode you’ll hear:

• How a childhood visit to a law firm in Osaka inspired Yu to pursue law and become a "superhero" helping people

• The critical decision to join Airbnb Japan in 2015 when almost everyone advised against it

• Why Yu approaches legal work with hospitality at its core

• The transformative moment in Yu’s career and why someone is always watching your effort

• His favourite book and other fun facts

About Yu

Yuichiro Watanabe is a Director of the Japan In‑House Lawyers Association (JILA) while taking a role of Lead Counsel at Airbnb Japan, and since January 2025 serves as a board director of Airbnb Japan K.K. He joined Airbnb in 2015 as the company’s third lawyer in Asia, following roles with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and DeNA. Recognized with eight honors across six consecutive years at the ALB Japan Law Awards in his thirties, including being the youngest recipient of In‑House Lawyer of the Year, Yu has also led a team named Diversity & Inclusion: In‑House Team of the Year at the Chambers Asia‑Pacific and Greater China Region Awards 2024 and has been selected for The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Japan. He also contributes to policy and standards work through committees at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Digital Agency, and ISO/TC262 for risk management.

He has walked a non-traditional career path in Japan, where in-house lawyers were still rare at the time. Through various failures and struggles within organizations, he has gained lessons that shaped his professional journey — and he carries a deep commitment to turning those personal setbacks into guidance for others. Admitted to the Japan Bar in 2009, he holds a J.D. from the School of Law at the University of Tokyo, and is the author of 「リーガルリスクマネジメントの教科書」 (The Textbook of Legal Risk Management, Nihon Kajoshuppan, 2023) and 「組織内弁護士の教科書」 (The Textbook for In-House Lawyers, forthcoming, Nihon Kajoshuppan, October 2025). Including these and his earlier two publications, his four-volume series has achieved an extraordinary circulation of 15,000 copies in Japan.

In his personal life, he enjoys traditional Kabuki theatre and traveling.

Connect with Yu

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wtnby/

Links

Hotel New Otani https://www.newotani.co.jp/en/tokyo/

JILA: https://jila.jp/

Blog: https://inhouselaw.org/inhouse/

Peter Thiel, Zero to One : https://amzn.asia/d/43FV5e7

Connect with Catherine

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair