Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Corporate Sep 30, 2013
Son says quality of network 'is critical'
by Kazuaki Nagata
Softbank Corp. President Masayoshi Son said Monday that providing a quality communications network will be even more critical now that all three major carriers are selling the iPhone. “The scene of the cellphone industry is changing,” Son said during an event unveiling Softbank’s winter-spring ...
Corporate Aug 1, 2013
Son reshaping Softbank seen in $20 billion loan
by Emi Urabe
Softbank Corp.’s cost of refinancing debt from its purchase of Sprint Corp. will be less than half of what it paid seven years ago to acquire the Vodafone unit that launched its mobile phone operations. Now Japan’s third-largest mobile carrier, Softbank expects to pay ...
Business Jul 7, 2013
Japan's maverick entrepreneurs offer Abe lessons in growth
by William Pesek
There’s no shortage of pundits eager to tell Shinzo Abe how to shake up Japan’s economy. Instead of looking to academics for advice, though, the prime minister should get into the trenches with some of the nation’s more unconventional corporate heads. Abe talks, for ...
Corporate Jun 22, 2013
Sprint part of Son's quest for the top
Billionaire Masayoshi Son told Softbank Corp. investors Friday how he plans to use the purchase of Sprint Nextel Corp. to transform Japan’s No. 3 mobile carrier into the world’s No. 1. At the company’s annual meeting, Son is working to convince shareholders his $21.6 ...
Corporate May 22, 2013
Softbank to sell ¥400 billion in bonds
by Yusuke Miyazawa
Softbank Corp. plans to sell ¥400 billion in bonds targeting individual investors to fund its $20.1 billion purchase of Sprint Nextel Corp. The mobile phone company will price the five-year notes to yield from 1.25 percent to 2.25 percent on June 3, according to ...
Corporate May 14, 2013
Son talks up Silicon Valley hub plans in Sprint bid
Softbank Corp., bidding to take over Sprint Nextel Corp. in a $20.1 billion deal, is planning a new Silicon Valley office for the U.S. carrier that would employ as many as 1,000 people. Executives have already started holding monthly meetings in the California technology ...
Corporate May 2, 2013
Softbank chief says Dish wrong fit for Sprint
Softbank Corp. President Masayoshi Son lashed out at fellow billionaire Charlie Ergen, saying he doesn’t have the expertise to run Sprint Nextel Corp., the U.S. mobile phone company both men are trying to take over. Ergen, the chairman of Dish Network Corp., doesn’t have ...