Junior Legal Counsel - Japan & South Korea

Location(s):

Japan

City/Cities:

Tokyo

Travel Required:

00% - 25%

Relocation Provided:

No

Job Posting End Date:

March 27, 2026

Shift:

Job Description Summary:

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Role Type: Individual Contributor

Please note: The selected candidate will need to be based in Tokyo, Japan. This is an Individual Contributor position.

The Senior Manager, Legal Counsel - Japan & South Korea role will provide strategic, business-partnering legal consultation and advice to support business growth initiatives across the various functions within the Japan & South Korea Operating Unit (JSK OU) and other international projects.  

What You’ll Do for Us:

• Provide proactive, creative and strategic legal counseling and support in problem resolution on a timely basis as a strong business partner; work as part of cross-functional teams on projects and initiatives to ensure the compliance with applicable laws and the Company policies. Build and maintain relationship with key stakeholders that will enable to provide strategic counseling and support.

• Proactively provide legal opinion as needed, conduct legal research and, where necessary, work with outside counsel for advice on complex matters and local laws/regulations.

• Draft, review and negotiate contracts to achieve business objectives, minimize risks and ensure compliance with Company policies, laws and regulations.

• Together with the other team members, provide legal support to the JSK OU Marketing team – such support will include, without limitation: (1) review and approval of marketing-related materials (including claims, packaging, advertisement, and campaign and promotional materials), press releases, consumer communications and any other materials; (2) consultation on marketing-related activations, promotions, projects and initiatives; and (3) consultation on internal rules, policies and guidelines that are related to marketing activities.

• Provide litigation assessment counseling and risk mitigation advice.  Coordinate litigation and related documentation in collaboration with the other members of the Global Legal Function and the outside counsel.

• Participate in cross-functional projects on innovation, new product launches and development.

• Represent and/or guide the representation of the Company interests in dealing with local governmental authorities.

• Provide general legal and business advice on a case-by-case basis to the business (all functions) including on strategies, business models and M&A projects.

• Ensure compliance with Company policies and provide proper training and support in the areas of corporate governance, including but not limited to the Code of Business Conduct, the Anti-Bribery Policy, the Supplier Guiding Principles, FCPA, trade sanctions, competition and other policies.

• Develop and support efficiency opportunities within the legal function to enhance the agility and effectiveness of the legal function.

• Support the JSK OU General Counsel on strategic legal advice and guidance to the JSK OU Leadership Team.

• Represent the JSK OU Legal team as the OU lead in networks for certain subject matters as well as for certain enterprise-wide initiatives.

What We’re Looking For:

• Qualified attorney (licensed in Japan and/ or any common-law jurisdiction)

• Preferably 2 to 5 years of prior relevant experience.

• Experience in supporting marketing activities and working on marketing-related laws and regulations (e.g., the Copyright Act, the Trademark Act, the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and the Personal Information Prevention Act).

• Business Partnership and Legal Efficiency: Provide strategic legal support and business solutions to ensure realization of business priorities.

• Contracts and Transactions: Draft, review and negotiate various agreements, including, but not limited to, service agreements, customer agreements, sponsorship agreements, licensing agreements, agency agreements and other agreements that are relevant to provide legal support to marketing activities.

• Ability to be highly organized and effective, handle multiple complex projects and carefully prioritize competing work assignments from many clients. 

• Strong communication skills, including written and presentation; ability to influence various stakeholders.

• Willingness to learn and take on new challenges in the course of performing your responsibilities.

• Ability to communicate complex legal concepts and issues in simple terms that could be understood by our stakeholders.

• Language: Japanese and English (at least business level in both)

What We Can Do For You:

• Career growth and development: Leveraging our boundaryless network, we provide access to educational platforms and provide coaching, mentoring and feedback, as a part of our Leadership & Development process.

• Diverse and inclusive culture: You’ll be welcomed and valued for who you are and empowered to use your voice to help others find theirs. We are committed to building a workplace where everyone belongs and every voice mattes.

• International Experience: Become part of international projects and work along multicultural teams, through our global network.

What can help you to be successful in the role?

Growth Behavior:

• Growth Mindset: Demonstrates Curiosity. Welcomes failure as a learning opportunity.

• Smart Risk: Makes bold decisions/recommendations.

• Commercially Focused: Understands the upstream and downstream implications of his/her work.

• Performance Driven & Accountable: Has high performance standards. Outperforms her/his peers.

• Fast/Agile: Removes barriers to move faster. Experiments and adapts. Thrives under pressure and fast pace.

• Empowered: Brings solutions instead of problems. Challenges the status quo. Has the courage to take an unpopular stance.

Leadership Behavior

• Act Like an Owner: Deliver results, creating value for our brands, our System, our customers and key stakeholders.

• Collaborate with the System, Customers and Key Stakeholders

• Develops Self and Others: Develop self and support others' development to achieve their full potential.

• Drive Innovation: Generate new or unique solutions and embrace new ideas that help sustain our business.

• Strong experience in managing senior stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to lead and positively impact teams.

What We Can Do For You 

• Career growth and development: Leveraging our boundaryless network, we provide access to educational platforms and provide coaching, mentoring and feedback, as a part of our Leadership & Development process.

• Diverse and inclusive culture: You’ll be embraced for who you are and empowered to use your voice to help others find theirs. We want to make our culture inevitable.

• International Experience: Become part of international projects and work along multicultural teams, through our global network.

Skills:

Business (Corporate) Law, Compliance, Contract Negotiations, Intellectual Property Law, Litigation

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.