Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, Japan. / Photo: Shutterstock.com

Global litigation funder Omni Bridgeway is expanding in Asia with a small investment in a Japanese business which helps finance litigation.

The Sydney-headquartered company has invested JPY40 million ($373,000) for a 5% shareholding in Japan Legal Network Co. Ltd., a legaltech startup, and extended a finance facility of JPY150 million ($1.4 million).

"This is Omni Bridgeway's first investment in Japan, marking a first step in the development of its Japanese business and the continuing expansion of its Asian operations," the funder said.

Established in 2015 by lawyers Yasufumi Minamitani and Nobuhisa Hayano, Japan Legal Network offers litigants financing service similar to the so-called after-the-event insurance, which covers the claimants' legal expenses and is novel for Japan, Omni Bridgeway said in a statement. While it differs slightly from traditional litigation funding, it has the same effect of funding claims which might not otherwise be pursued.

"Japan Legal Network is the first service of this kind in Japan and provides clients with the capital and expertise to pursue their rights," said Minamitani, who serves as the company's CEO and was a former lawyer with Nishimura & Asahi, one of the largest law firms in Japan.

"Japanese claimants have traditionally not had an avenue to progress their legal rights while outsourcing the costs and risks to a finance institution at the same time," he added.

Omni Bridgeway said the expansion is part of its long-term strategy to push into Asia.

"JLN's focus is on smaller claims, in Japan, and this investment, for us, is a way to support an entrepreneurial young business which is promoting access to justice in the world's third largest economy," said Tom Glasgow, Omni Bridgeway's Singapore-based Asia chief investment officer.

"Japan is not an entirely new market for us. Our global team has been working with Japanese businesses for years, helping them to manage the cost and risk associated with complex international disputes and assisting with the enforcement of awards and judgments outside out of Japan."

Earlier this year Omni Bridgeway, previously known as IMF Bentham, expanded in New Zealand and expanded in Singapore late last year.

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