Founding of the Law Office in Marunouchi
The history of Iwata Godo began in 1902 when Chuzo Iwata, who later served as Minister of Justice, President of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, and a member of the House of Peers, (1) founded the Iwata Chuzo Law Office ( the “Iwata Office”) in the Tsukiji area of Tokyo.
In 1906, the office moved to the Mitsubishinaka 14th Building (2) in the Marunouchi area of Tokyo, which was the first business office district in Japan, known at the time as the “London Block.”. Serving primarily corporate and business clients, and gradually increasing the number of lawyers over the years, our office has remained in Marunouchi ever since.
Note (1): In 1961, he became the first president of the National Association, the predecessor of the National Political Association.
Note (2): The site of the former Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Building (the current Marunouchi 2-chome Building), adjacent to the Mitsubishi Building, is the former site of the Mitsubishinaka 14th Building.
Establishment of Specialized Practice Areas
Dr. Iwata was born and raised in Tateno Village, Kumage County, Yamaguchi Prefecture (later Suo Village, now Hikari City), and studied law at Tokyo Imperial University.
While studying, Dr. Iwata became acquainted with the eminent statesman Hirobumi Ito, who was from a neighboring village. He deepened his interest in political activities, while receiving financial support from Ito. After graduating, he worked for a newspaper company to broaden his experience.
Thereafter, Dr. Iwata became an attorney, the profession in which he was the most interested. At the time of the establishment of the Iwata Office, he intended to become an expert in banking and maritime transport, focusing in particular on marine insurance.
In order to achieve this aim, he requested Ito to introduce him to the Bank of Japan and Nippon Yusen Kaisha. These introductions resulted in Dr. Iwata being designated as legal counselor to both. In addition, Dr. Iwata was appointed as a legal advisor to the Imperial Household Ministry, Tokio Marine Fire Insurance, Mitsubishi Bank, and Nihon Kangyo Bank.
Dr. Iwata devoted deep study to maritime commercial law as well as marine insurance law and handled such major cases as “the Claim for Damages Caused by the Sinking of Umegaka-Maru in Broad Daylight in Shimonoseki Port” and “the Insurance Policy Claim Regarding the Sinking of Takenoura-Maru in Kushiro Port.” He earned a strong reputation as an expert in maritime adjudications. As legal counselor of the Bank of Japan, he wrote legal opinions on various issues in banking. Dr. Iwata’s practice expanded to include the Central Banks of Taiwan and Korea, which were under Japanese colonial rule at the time, and leading companies such as Tokyo Dento (Tokyo Electric Light), an electric utility. These clients requested legal opinions from Dr. Iwata, and opinions on civil, commercial and corporate legal matters were among the firm’s strongest practice areas.