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November 08, 2025
 

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SOFTBANK

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.
A monitor shows the morning closing value of the Topix index hitting a fresh record, trading above 3,000 for the first time, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 8, 2025
Japan index hits record high on earnings boost as other Asian markets ease
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average went up 2% and the Topix index hit a fresh record, trading above 3,000 for the first time.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump celebrates after signing executive orders on artificial intelligence at the “Winning the AI Race” Summit in Washington on July 23.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 1, 2025
Will Trump’s tech policies propel U.S. success against China?
As China mobilizes all its resources for an all-out contest for technological supremacy, the U.S. cannot afford economic inefficiencies and to push its closest partners away.
The Toyota buyout is a major test for Japan’s reforms
Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor, speaks during a media preview at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 29. Minority investors are challenging the carmaker's bid to take affiliate Toyota Industries Corp. private.
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
New satellite images suggest 'mass graves' in Sudan's El-Fasher
A general view of a berm construction in Kinin Village near El-Fasher.
High-speed rail is expensive and difficult, but seen as a key to growth
Achal Khare, former managing director at India’s National High Speed Rail Corporation, gives a presentation during the IHRA Forum 2025 in Tokyo on Oct. 23.
SoftBank is said to have explored potential takeover of Marvell
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.
These are the hottest lower-division rikishi to watch right now
Fukazaki (right) grapples with Enho at the IG Arena in Nagoya on July 13.
Across borders and screens, Tokyo film festival finds humanity in migration
“Mother Bhumi” takes place in a multiethnic rice-farming community where Chinese, Thai and Malay lineages intertwine.
Takaichi’s balancing act: Supporting Taiwan and stabilizing China ties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Lin Hsin-i, Taiwan’s presidential adviser, on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday in this image posted to Takaichi's official X account.
From 1973 to 2025: A Japanese American skater’s long ride to recognition
Judi Oyama at Winchester Skatepark in San Jose, California, in January 1979. The Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee and Guinness World Record holder still skates and hopes to inspire older women.
More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English
Waseda University in Tokyo

Podcast

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

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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