Alexander Dmitrenko is the Head of Asia Sanctions at Freshfields Tokyo, focusing on regulatory and compliance matters. A NY/English-qualified lawyer, he has been living and working in Japan for over 10 years. Alexander is a co-founder and co-chair of Lawyers for LGBT & Allies Network (LLAN), which promotes LGBT equality. LLAN’s major recent project has been the Viewpoint on Marriage Equality, recommending the Government of Japan to extend equal marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples. Through LLAN’s work, the Viewpoint and its business case for marriage was endorsed by 86 business and professional entities. Alexander is also a board member of TELL (an NPO focusing on mental health and suicide prevention) and a Friendship Ambassador of the island of Hachijojima.