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Gillian Tan
For Gillian Tan's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Jeff Bezos — the world’s second-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Ranking — is investing in a business that’s developing human-like robots.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 24, 2024
Bezos and Nvidia join OpenAI in funding humanoid robot startup
The startup Figure AI is raising about $675 million in a funding round that carries a pre-money valuation of roughly $2 billion.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the SoftBank World event in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 17, 2024
Masayoshi Son aims to launch a $100 billion AI chip venture
The SoftBank Group founder is looking to create a chip venture to compete with Nvidia and supply semiconductors essential for AI.
Mizuho Financial Group has been expanding its presence in the United States to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, becoming one of the four global investment banks leading Arm's IPO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023
Mizuho's SoftBank ties boost Wall Street ambitions via Arm IPO
The bank has been expanding its presence in the U.S. to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, even as deals slump globally following the pandemic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2022
Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas as U.S. files FTX charges
Bankman-Fried is being held in custody pending an extradition process, the island nation's attorney general, Ryan Pinder, said in a statement.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 1, 2022
FTX’s Japan unit drafts plan to return client funds
The proposal, which has yet to be finalized, centers on using a platform called Liquid to facilitate the return of assets starting in January.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2022
Top SoftBank executive set to leave after seeking $1 billion in compensation
Marcelo Claure, who was SoftBank's second-highest paid executive in the latest financial year, has often pushed for much more money and authority, putting him at odds with Masayoshi Son.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 8, 2021
SoftBank wants to sell a quarter of the $2.2 billion WeWork rescue debt
WeWork continues to be unprofitable, and the omicron variant of the coronavirus could further weigh on its future results.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2021
Nomura prime brokerage cuts seen sparing little in U.S. and Europe
Word of the retreat is already spreading on Wall Street, as some of Nomura's prime brokerage employees in New York start to explore other job opportunities.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2021
Mizuho requires staff returning to U.S. offices to be vaccinated
Wall Street is seeking to bring staff back as vaccines help the U.S. recover from a pandemic that forced most employees to work from home.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 30, 2020
WeWork’s imperiled $3 billion stock sale would mostly benefit five investors
In a deal that’s currently at risk of falling apart, a handful of investors would be the main beneficiaries of SoftBank Group Corp.’s plan to buy $3 billion of WeWork stock, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 23, 2020
WeWork directors prepare to take on SoftBank if it abandons rescue deal
Two independent WeWork directors are weighing all options, including legal action, after SoftBank Group Corp. advised the company's shareholders it may renege on part of its rescue package.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores