Withers has hired three Morrison & Foerster lawyers as the firm launches a new office in Tokyo.

The office, which will centre on tax work, will be overseen by partner Eric Roose, who joins the firm from Morrison & Foerster as head of Withers' international corporate tax practice in Asia.

Roose will split his time between Singapore and Tokyo, and will be the only partner tied to the new base.

The other two Withers fee earners will be Chizuko Tomita and Takeo Mizutani, who are both tax advisers and have the title of 'zeirishi' under Japanese regulation, which is distinct from the titles given to lawyers in the country.

Consequently, the Tokyo office will initially operate as Withers Japan Zeirishi Houjin, a separate legal entity to Withers that will contract solely with the firm.

However, over the next few years the firm hopes to fully integrate the base into the Withers network.

There are no more hires planned immediately for the office, a Withers spokesperson said.

The Tokyo launch comes on the back of a string of recent foreign ventures for Withers.

Last month the firm opened three new offices in California. It also struck a formal alliance with Singapore's KhattarWong in February, and signed an alliance deal in Australia in December.