Major mobile phone carrier NTT Docomo Inc. said Thursday that it will start offering cheap smartphone plans with low data volume in cooperation with two low-cost smartphone carriers. (Japan Times)

WeWork Japan is expected to specialize in managing coworking offices, Nikkei has learned, moving away from directly leasing space to reduce its financial exposure while continuing to expand. (Nikkei)

Internet platform businesses like Google and Amazon, you would think, necessarily compete in a global market that spans national boundaries. (Nikkei)

Sources say major Japanese mobile phone carrier KDDI is working with US venture firm SpaceX to launch a satellite communications service as early as next year. (NHK)

Yahoo Japan will vacate 40% of its Tokyo office space by November as it expects the COVID-necessitated work-from-home trend to gain permanence. (Nikkei)

TOKYO – Despite a fresh state of emergency over the coronavirus taking effect in Tokyo on Monday, pedestrian traffic in busy areas of the capital did not dramatically decrease from the week before. (Japan Times)

SoftBank Group Corp. has suspended production of its Pepper robot, shelving for now a project Masayoshi Son once personally championed as a symbol of his conglomerate’s ambitions in AI and technology. (Japan Times)

The Japanese government is allowing its biggest corporate brand names and employers like Toyota Motor Corp., SoftBank Group Corp., and Nomura Holdings Inc. to administer shots to their own employees within office premises from Monday. (Bloomberg)

SoftBank Group has posted a record net profit of 4.98 trillion yen, or about 46 billion dollars, for the fiscal year that ended in March. (NHK)

Japan’s richest people accumulated more wealth over the past year despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with their collective wealth jumping nearly 50%, Forbes Asia reported Thursday. (Japan Times)

The Saitama Seibu Lions baseball team offered fans free coronavirus antibody tests before a game on Sunday. (NHKn)

Norwegian robotics and software firm AutoStore AS said Monday that Japanese investment giant SoftBank Group Corp. will acquire 40% of its shares for $2.8 billion. (Japan Times)

Japan's messaging app Line has stopped its Chinese affiliates and contractors from accessing the personal information of Japanese users, the company said Tuesday, in response to growing scrutiny over its data management practices. (Nikkei)

Yahoo Japan and messaging app provider Line have officially merged, creating a new tech giant. (NHK)

Clubhouse, the invite-only drop-in conversation app attracting Silicon Valley leaders in the U.S., has jumped the pond to become a hit in Japan where company heads, celebrity musicians and politicians have embraced the latest social-media phenomenon. (Japan Times)

Japanese telecommunications and technology conglomerate Softbank Group Corp. reported Monday a whopping 1.17 trillion yen ($11 billion) profit for the October-December quarter as its investments rose in value. (apnews.com)

SoftBank Group on Wednesday made its coronavirus testing service available to individuals in Japan via an app offered by its cellphone service provider, a move that shows the investor's broader ambitions in the health care technology business. (Nikkei)

There seems to be no end in sight for the price war among mobile phone carriers, with Rakuten Mobile Inc. unveiling a lower cost plan Friday in an effort to keep its edge over its powerful rivals. (Japan Times)

Japan's three major telecoms -- NTT Docomo, KDDI and SoftBank -- are gearing up for a rate war in spring. (Nikkei)

Following moves by its rivals, KDDI Corp. said Wednesday it will roll out new cut-price smartphone plans, further intensifying competition among mobile phone carriers under intense pressure from the government. (Japan Times)

A former employee of SoftBank Corp was arrested Tuesday for illegally taking information from the major Japanese wireless carrier on its ultrafast 5G technology before moving to a smaller rival company, police said. (Japan Today)

A former SoftBank Corp. employee has been arrested on suspicion of illegally disclosing 5G trade secrets to his new employer, Rakuten Mobile Inc., as it was preparing to launch its own mobile network. (Japan Times)

The general public in Japan will be able to receive low-cost at-home coronavirus testing from SoftBank Group, which until now had only offered its PCR screening to companies and local governments. (Nikkei)

Japanese telecom company SoftBank Corp. will launch a wireless plan in March offering 20 gigabytes of data for 2,980 yen ($29) per month, matching a recent move by market leader NTT Docomo. (Nikkei)

NTT Docomo Inc. plans to cut mobile phone fees across the board, sources familiar with the matter said, becoming the first of Japan's major carriers to do so following a government call for the industry to lower charges. (Kyodo)