Tokyo court orders Softbank to hand over phone number of commenter who defamed firm
In a rare ruling, a court has ordered mobile service provider SoftBank Corp. to disclose the phone number of an individual who posted defamatory comments online about a real estate company in Tokyo, a lawyer said Thursday. The Tokyo District Court ordered the carrier last ...
Fast Retailing Co. Chief Executive Officer Tadashi Yanai is leaving SoftBank Group Corp.'s board after more than 18 years as one of the few directors with the heft to challenge Masayoshi Son. Yanai, Japan's richest man, will step down on Tuesday, according to a SoftBank ...
Masayoshi Son: Tech visionary or robber baron?
We're coming to realize that the SoftBank founder is less a business guru than a 19th-century capitalist.
WeWork bailout stalls as Japan banks balk at lending Softbank $3 billion
SoftBank Group Corp.'s talks to secure $3 billion (about ¥328 billion) from the nation's three biggest banks have stalled as the lenders have hit internal lending limits to the firm, two people said, complicating a $9.5 billion rescue package for WeWork. The technology conglomerate is ...
Masayoshi Son's bankers worried about their favorite client
Masayoshi Son's bankers are taking a hard look at their most important client. After the costly rescue of office-sharing startup WeWork and a series of other high-profile setbacks for Son, senior executives at two of Japan's biggest banking groups have said privately they've grown less ...
SoftBank-backed OneConnect sees valuation tumble in U.S. IPO
Ping An Insurance Co.'s OneConnect Financial Technology said Thursday it raised around $312 million in its U.S. initial public offering, valuing the company at around $3.7 billion. OneConnect sold 31.2 million American depositary shares (ADS) at $10 each. Earlier this month, it had aimed to ...
Nanako Aramaki, the only professional flamenco dancer from Japan performing in London, has been winning hearts with her brilliant dance steps on stage while also working as an employee of a telecommunications-related company. One recent Sunday evening, the 36-year-old started dancing to a festive Sevillana ...
SoftBank will have 'last laugh' on WeWork deal, analyst predicts
SoftBank Group Corp.'s massive investment in WeWork triggered a multibillion-dollar write-down and a rare apology from founder Masayoshi Son. But one analyst argues the deal is likely to work in the end and SoftBank will have the "last laugh." Chris Lane of Sanford C. Bernstein ...
SoftBank's new tech fund to fall shy of target, Telegraph reports
SoftBank Group Corp. has scaled back ambitions for its second Vision Fund after the failure of big bets, including WeWork, by its first fund rattled partners such as Saudi Arabia, according to the Sunday Telegraph. The second Vision Fund is expected to fall significantly short ...
SoftBank and University of Tokyo to open business-oriented AI research centers
SoftBank Corp. and the University of Tokyo have agreed to open artificial-intelligence centers staffed with specialists from the university and around the world, to swiftly turn research into profitable business ventures so Japan can keep up with the U.S. and China. "If they are stuck ...
SoftBank's startup bookkeeping draws scrutiny after WeWork fiasco
In early 2018, the founders of Chinese artificial intelligence startup SenseTime Group Ltd. flew to Tokyo to see billionaire investor Masayoshi Son. As they entered the offices, Chief Executive Officer Xu Li was hoping to persuade the head of SoftBank Group Corp. to invest ...
KDDI Corp. and social media giant Facebook Inc. will jointly develop services to be provided through a 5G network in Japan, according to informed sources. They aim to offer smartphone users a product sales system utilizing augmented reality by taking advantage of the massive data ...
