Society

SoftBank's Son seeks Alibaba-size scale with Yahoo-Line deal

Nov 14 (Nikkei) - Undeterred by a huge loss on U.S. office-sharing platform WeWork, SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son has set his sights on a new big plan: building a sweeping online ecosystem akin to China's Alibaba Group Holding.

Z Holdings, the SoftBank-owned parent of Yahoo Japan, and South Korea's Naver, which owns the popular chat app Line, are in final negotiations to bring the two internet companies under a single umbrella, Nikkei has learned.

The combination, which will boast more than 100 million users in Japan alone, is expected to become a SoftBank consolidated subsidiary.

Son has long been interested in Line, the country's leading chat app. "He must have been searching for an opportunity for a capital partnership this whole time," a source familiar with the matter said. SoftBank and Z Holdings are believed to have approached Line's parent Naver on the possibility of a tie-up.

"Mr. Son is trying to create a Japanese version of Alibaba, with Yahoo at its core," a SoftBank executive said. Alibaba was SoftBank's largest investment and is considered Son's biggest success so far. The company has since expanded beyond its e-commerce roots into a variety of fields, including its Alipay digital wallet, with over 1 billion users.

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

Tochigi Robbery-Murder Suspect’s Wife Posted Dance Videos on Social Media

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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