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August 16, 2025
 

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Min Jeong Lee
Rakuten Bank CEO Tomotaka Torin is interviewed in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 14, 2025
Rakuten Bank to refrain from JGB buying as more rate hikes seen
"We’re not going for any aggressive buying of JGBs until we’ve seen at least another rate hike or two,” CEO Tomotaka Torin said in an interview.
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.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2025
SoftBank swings to profit after Masayoshi Son’s AI bets pay off
SoftBank Group swung to a quarterly profit, riding on gains from its bets on Nvidia and startups in a boon for founder Masayoshi Son’s bets on artificial intelligence technologies.
Reflecting CEO Masayoshi Son's artificial intelligence-focused strategy, SoftBank Group has boosted its stakes in Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 5, 2025
SoftBank builds Nvidia and TSMC stakes under Son’s focus on AI gear
SoftBank Group raised its stake in Nvidia to about $3 billion by the end of March and bought around $330 million worth of TSMC shares.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son (left) with OpenAI chief Sam Altman via video link
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 16, 2025
Masayoshi Son and Sam Altman see no end to AI demand and scaling
The two business partners argued that advancing AI would lead to new jobs that are not yet imagined, and the advancement of robotics will help kickstart a "self-improvement” loop.
SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during the company's annual general meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025
Masayoshi Son hints at succession plan while chasing AI ambition
Son said he plans to hold SoftBank’s reins another 10 years, but added he has several candidates for its next chief in mind.
The Environment Ministry is offering ¥60 billion ($415 million) of support for the commercialization of homegrown climate and environmental technology through the Japan Green Investment Corp. for Carbon Neutrality, a government-backed fund that invests in ventures to reduce emissions.
JAPAN
May 29, 2025
Japan bets on homegrown startups to adapt to a hotter world
The Environment Ministry is offering ¥60 billion of support through the Japan Green Investment Corp. for Carbon Neutrality.
SoftBank Group’s investments in AI will be financed through a loan in which Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and JPMorgan Chase serve as lead underwriters, highlighting the Japanese tech investor's ability to secure funding for its outsize ambitions.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2025
SoftBank taps Mizuho, SMBC and JPMorgan to lead $15 billion loan
The move is a sign of the Japanese tech investor’s ability to secure financing for its outsize ambitions.
SoftBank Group reported net income of ¥517.18 billion ($3.5 billion) in its fiscal fourth quarter, helped by the Vision Fund, which swung to a profit of ¥26.1 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2025
SoftBank profit doubles as AI demand boosts chip sales and startups
The results come as SoftBank plans to invest $30 billion in OpenAI while leading a $100 billion foray into building AI hardware in the U.S.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during the 2025 CES event in Las Vegas in January.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Akio Toyoda’s buyout plan called ‘gutsy’ by Dalton Investments
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda’s ¥6 trillion ($41 billion) plan to buy out Toyota Industries has won over at least one of the auto supplier’s critics: Dalton Investments.
Dalton Investments is demanding Fuji Media Holdings change its board members, spin off its real estate business, unwind cross shareholdings and push through corporate governance reform.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 12, 2025
Dalton Investments seeks talks with Fuji Media to avoid proxy fight
The activist investor wants the Japanese broadcaster to change its board members and spin off its real estate business, among other things.
Volatility in the Vision Fund’s quarterly performance consistently dogs SoftBank, which has embarked on a project with OpenAI to invest $500 billion on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2025
SoftBank swings to a loss ahead of big Stargate AI bet
The Tokyo-based company reported a net loss of ¥369.2 billion ($2.4 billion) for the fiscal third quarter amid volatility in its Vision Fund unit.
SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son announces the Stargate Project, an artificial intelligence venture with OpenAI, during a news conference in Tokyo on Feb. 3.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 11, 2025
SoftBank eyes debt-heavy financing for $500 billion AI push
SoftBank and OpenAI’s push to build out tens of gigawatts of datacenter capacity has the potential to be the biggest rollout of computing power ever.
Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani says the company sees an opportunity in Japan, which has been a laggard in the adoption of digital and artificial intelligence-powered technologies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2025
Rakuten founder defends costly mobile foray with big AI bet
Rakuten Mobile and its 8 million-plus users help train an AI poised to expand the conglomerate’s business, according to billionaire founder Hiroshi Mikitani.
A demonstrator reacts after lawmakers passed a motion to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 18, 2024
South Korea’s ‘hurry hurry’ culture helps bring down a president
The swiftness of Yoon Suk Yeol's fall gestures at the country's culture of taking a head-on approach to solving conflict.
SoftBank Group will make a tender offer allowing OpenAI employees to cash in shares if they choose.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024
SoftBank seeks to buy $1.5 billion OpenAI shares from employees
SoftBank will make a tender offer for the stock, allowing OpenAI employees to cash in shares if they choose.
Jensen Huang (left), co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, and Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group, during a fireside chat at the Nvidia AI Summit Japan on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2024
SoftBank plans first supercomputer with Nvidia Blackwell chips
Nvidia’s chips have become a prized commodity for the world’s biggest tech companies, which use the components to develop and run AI models.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the SoftBank World event in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 3, 2024
SoftBank’s Son envisions AI running households in the next few years
Masayoshi Son's rosy view of AI's potential often comes with a warning to skeptics that they may be left behind if they do not embrace the technology.
E-scooter startup Lime has launched its service in some of Tokyo’s most densely populated neighborhoods
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 20, 2024
Uber-backed e-scooter startup Lime enters Japan after Korea exit
Lime, which has a global fleet of around 200,000 e-bikes and scooters, on Monday launched its service in some of Tokyo’s most densely populated areas.
The listing ceremony of Ola Electric Mobility at the National Stock Exchange in Mumbai, India, on Aug. 9
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 19, 2024
Mumbai debuts deliver for SoftBank after market retreat from AI trims gains
Three firms backed by SoftBank have made solid debuts in the past week, in a positive sign after the Vision Fund fell to a loss of ¥204.3 billion in the June quarter.
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Japanese star convicted of indecent assault in Hong Kong
J-pop idol Kenshin Kamimura leaves the West Kowloon Law Courts on bail in Hong Kong on Wednesday, after he was found guilty of indecent assault of a woman who worked as his interpreter at a restaurant in Mong Kok district in March this year.
Tens of thousands left stranded at Osaka Expo by train service interruption
Visitors rest inside the Osaka Expo venue early Thursday morning
Welcoming foreign residents benefits Japan, three quarters of economists say
The streets of Tokyo's Ginza district in April. The number of foreign residents in Japan hit a record high at 3.76 million as of the end of last year, comprising just over 3% of the population.
Hiker missing in Hokkaido after bear attack found dead
The Rausu mountain range at Hokkaido's Shiretoko National Park. A man in his 20s who went missing after being attacked by a bear while hiking on Mount Rausu has been found dead.
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Will Ishiba's critics be able to garner enough support for a leadership race?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's political survival likely hinges on whether a leadership race will take place within the Liberal Democratic Party following its decision to have its election committee canvass the opinions of party members and prefectural chapters on the subject.
Hidden rosters and the legacy of Japan’s germ warfare
Katsutoshi Takegami, 77, in his storehouse attic where he discovered his father's Unit 1644 documents
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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