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November 23, 2025
 

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SOFTBANK

SoftBank priced ¥46 billion in bonds on Friday, bringing its already record issuance this year to around ¥400 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2025
SoftBank prices ¥46 billion in bonds, extending record issuance
The offering comes amid a sharp rise in benchmark government bond yields, driven by concerns over fiscal expansion under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration.
Japanese and South Korean tech stocks tumbled Friday, with Softbank falling over 10% amid AI bubble concerns.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 21, 2025
Asia tech stocks tumble on AI bubble fears
Seoul's benchmark Kospi index was trading down nearly 4%, while Tokyo's Nikkei index shed 2.3% in morning trade.
JR East is retiring the beloved Suica penguin as part of a rebrand to transform the contactless payment platform, used for both transit and retail, into a mobile fintech powerhouse.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 16, 2025
A beloved Tokyo penguin’s end presages Suica’s shift to payments giant
Since Suica’s introduction in 2001, the penguin has featured on transit cards and apps that are used daily by the tens of millions who traverse the world’s largest metropolis.
SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son is aggressively seeking to capitalize on booming investment in AI and chips, even as he scales back other investments.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2025
SoftBank sells Nvidia stake for $5.8 billion to fund AI bets
The Tokyo-based company now boasts a portfolio that includes some of the world’s most sought-after names in artificial intelligence: OpenAI and Oracle.
Yasuyuki Fukuda, chief portfolio manager of Nomura Asset Management’s Japanese Information Electronics equity fund, says AI stocks are not in a bubble and have room to rise further.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2025
Japan’s largest tech fund says AI stocks not at bubble stage
With seven large tech companies now accounting for more than one-third of the S&P 500 index’s weighting, investors are asking if this is a sign of overheating.
SoftBank explored a potential takeover of U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology earlier this year, in what would have been the semiconductor industry's largest-ever deal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2025
SoftBank is said to have explored potential takeover of Marvell
SoftBank explored a potential takeover of U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology earlier this year, people familiar with the matter said, in what would have been the semiconductor industry’s largest-ever deal.
SoftBank Group’s Japanese mobile unit and OpenAI are set to launch AI services for local companies next year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2025
SoftBank chases actual revenue with OpenAI in corporate Japan
SoftBank Corp. and Open AI are said to be still fine-tuning the products the two companies are co-developing for Japanese enterprises.
Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank is turning to expensive hybrid bonds and other financing methods to fund its $30 billion investment in OpenAI, as it faces growing pressure from high debt, low cash flow and competition from AI giants like Nvidia.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2025
SoftBank’s OpenAI ambition is far too grand for banks
On a stand-alone basis, as of the end of June, the company held more than twice as many bonds as bank loans.
SoftBank has raised at least $24 billion in loans and bonds so far in 2025 and is seeking to raise more in the overseas bond market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2025
SoftBank seeks $2 billion in bond sales as it chases AI bets
The Japanese technology investment giant has raised at least $24 billion in loans and bonds so far in 2025.
Rakuten Group issued a local bond with this year's highest coupon of 4.691%, highlighting the impact of rising interest rates on corporate borrowing costs in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2025
Japan gets highest-yielding yen bond this year with Rakuten deal
Japanese bond yields have climbed over concerns the next administration may pursue a more expansionary fiscal policy.
PayPay has taken a 40% stake in Binance’s Japan unit.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2025
SoftBank’s PayPay invests in Binance Japan to expand in crypto
The companies plan to launch a service that will allow users to buy crypto through Binance using their PayPay accounts, they said.
An ABB robot at the Sony U.K. Technology Centre in Pencoed, Wales
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 8, 2025
SoftBank to buy ABB’s robotics arm in $5.4 billion deal
The Japanese investment firm agreed to take over a business with more than 7,000 employees, which supplies industrial arms and robots.
Payments using the PayPay app will soon be possible in South Korea.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2025
SoftBank’s PayPay to become available in South Korea as company looks outward
Japan’s largest mobile payment platform decided on South Korea because it is the most popular country for people in Japan to visit.
SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son’s bets on artificial intelligence have fueled a 146% surge in the stock since the fiscal year began in April.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 22, 2025
SoftBank’s heavy weight forces skeptical stock investors to buy
SoftBank shares provided almost 10% of the increase in the Topix’s market capitalization since the end of March.
SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund is considering cutting as much as 20% of its staff.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2025
SoftBank's Vision Fund mulls 20% job cuts after Son’s pivot to AI
The unit, which employed about 282 people as of the end of March, may shed more than 50 roles, a person familiar with the matter said.
KDDI has launched a new service that allows direct linkups between smartphones and the Starlink satellite communication network.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 18, 2025
In shift from price-cutting trend, Japan's telecom firms hike rates as costs rise
Desperate to ensure price hikes are accepted by subscribers, telecom carriers have improved their networks and service quality, and offered extra services.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and U.S. President Donald Trump. Son has promised to invest $100 billion in the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 19, 2025
SoftBank buying about 2% of Intel for $2 billion
CEO Masayoshi Son earlier pledged to invest a total of $100 billion in the United States.
SoftBank is scouting a number of potential data center sites to serve as a flagship for Stargate, weighing their access to water, power and telecom networks.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2025
Foxconn to operate SoftBank’s Stargate AI server site in Ohio
SoftBank will supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture between the two companies will make AI data center-related equipment.
PayPay is the most popular payment app in Japan, with 70 million users.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 15, 2025
SoftBank's PayPay prepares for listing on a U.S. exchange
It has filed registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
SoftBank Group has emerged as the unnamed buyer of Foxconn Technology Group’s electric vehicle plant in Ohio and plans to incorporate the facility into its $500 billion Stargate data center project with OpenAI and Oracle.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 12, 2025
SoftBank shares surge on AI hope and sign of Stargate progress
The firm's emergence as the unnamed buyer of Foxconn's electric vehicle plant in Ohio is spurring optimism that it may be able to kick-start its stalled endeavor.
Japanese court orders Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million over manga piracy
Cloudflare has been ordered to pay ¥500 million after four major publishing firms accused the firm of copyright infringement for its role in hosting sites that distribute pirated copies of manga titles.
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
Two men suspected of smuggling 1 ton of gold into Japan from South Korea
U.K. gold bullion bars and coins are displayed at Baird & Co. in Hatton Garden in London.
Takaichi rejects China's demand to retract Taiwan remarks
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has rejected China's demands for her to retract her comments on Taiwan, saying Tokyo's stance on a major regional security crisis remains unchanged.
¥21.3 trillion stimulus package approved by Cabinet
The Cabinet is expected to submit an extra budget bill to finance the package to parliament, which is in session until Dec. 17.
First foreign president of Hosei University looks abroad for change
Hosei University President Diana Khor, who herself was an international student, aims to encourage students to look outward and cultivate a global mindset.
Japanese companies advised to change mindset about investment in Africa
Bernard Laurendeau, chief of Enkopa Lab Japan, in Tokyo last month
Munetaka Murakami headlines quartet looking to move to MLB via posting system
The Swallows' Munetaka Murakami has 246 career home runs in eight NPB seasons.
The reality of human trafficking in Japan
A view of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward at night. Last year in Japan, 66 people were put in protective custody as victims of human trafficking. Among them, 58 — including all 41 minors — were Japanese nationals. International pressure to act on human trafficking led Japan to make efforts to crack down on the crime, such as a tightening of conditions in 2005 for entertainer visas.
Why we can’t get enough of the sham of the rental family
“Rental Family,” directed and co-written by the single-named Hikari, follows out-of-work actor Phillip (Brendan Fraser), who is hired as the “token white guy” at a Tokyo agency called Rental Family.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40
By Weiwen Lin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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