Business Jun 19, 2020
Fearing germs on steering wheels, Japanese shun car-sharing
by Nao Sano and Gearoid Reidy
With people being asked to stay at home, car rental services took a hit across the country.
Business May 28, 2020
Businesses providing cowork spaces or private lodgings have seen a sharp decline in demand, but other businesses such as delivery services are thriving.
Business / Corporate May 19, 2020
Uber’s job cuts and office closures reflect narrowing ambitions
by Lizette Chapman
As recently as this year, the company was promising to usher in a self-driving revolution and popularize flying cars.
Business / Corporate Apr 6, 2020
Some WeWork staff planned their lives around a stock deal that just collapsed
by Ellen Huet
Teddy Kramer worked at WeWork from 2013 to 2015. When he left the company, he had been a director of new market development, helping the coworking startup open new offices in different regions. He’d put in the time and been granted shares in the ...
Business / Corporate Apr 2, 2020
SoftBank Group Corp. is scrapping an agreement to spend $3 billion (¥322 billion) to buy WeWork stock from former CEO Adam Neumann and other shareholders, despite threats of legal action from some members of the company’s board. SoftBank had agreed to buy the shares from ...
Business / Corporate Mar 29, 2020
SoftBank’s big bet on sharing economy backfires with coronavirus
Masayoshi Son has been among the most fervent believers in the sharing economy, investing billions in startups that help people split the use of cars, rooms and offices. But as the coronavirus curtails unnecessary human interaction, it’s hammering such businesses and rattling the foundations of ...
Business Dec 5, 2019
Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of U.S. ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc., expressed interest on Wednesday in expanding partnerships with Japanese taxi companies. Uber's ride-hailing service is available in many countries, but unlicensed taxi services are banned in Japan. Khosrowshahi said at an event held in New ...
Business Nov 12, 2019
Sharing economy conference explores global phenomenon from Japan perspective
by Masumi Koizumi
From transportation to holiday homes, the "sharing economy" is gaining traction worldwide, and in typhoon- and earthquake-prone Japan the concept is increasingly seen as instrumental to disaster management. On Monday this year's Share Summit, one of the largest public-private conferences in Japan on the burgeoning ...
Business Nov 7, 2019
More Japanese companies using subscription services to woo customers
by Junko Horiuchi
Subscription-based businesses are growing slower in Japan than in other big economies partly due to regulatory barriers, but the number of firms drawn to the model is on the rise as consumers search for personalized and more cost-effective ways to use products that have ...
Business / Corporate Oct 25, 2019
Uber CEO Khosrowshahi vows to deliver a profit, with help from India
by Saritha Rai
Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi is vowing to make his company profitable while pursuing growth from emerging arenas such as India, addressing investors' concerns about the ride-sharing company's mounting losses and global regulatory challenges. Uber, which lost about $5.2 billion in the ...