AI
For the first time since 2019, SoftBank World, SoftBank Corp.’s (TOKYO: 9434) largest event for enterprise customers, returned as an in-person event in Tokyo in October 2023. From October 4 to 6, SoftBank World 2023 featured keynotes, pane…
As President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa first outlined at the earnings results conference held on August 4, 2023, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is carrying out various generative AI initiatives, including the construction of a new generative AI…
For the first time since 2019, SoftBank World, SoftBank's largest event for enterprise customers, returned as an in-person event in Tokyo in October 2023. In addition to keynotes, panel discussions and exhibits that ran from October 4 to 6…
For the first time since 2019, SoftBank World, SoftBank's largest event for enterprise customers, returned as an in-person event in Tokyo. From October 4 to 6, SoftBank World 2023 showcased keynotes and panel discussions from technology lu…
Masaya Ogino, a data scientist at SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) won a gold medal in the "Feedback Prize - English Language Learning" competition held by Kaggle, the world's largest data science competition platform. The goal of this AI codi…
As President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa mentioned at the earnings briefing for Q1 FY2023 on August 4, 2023, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) views generative AI to be the most important technology for the future. Accordingly, SoftBank is working o…
Keio Research Institute at SFC (KRIS) and SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434)’s Research Institute of Advanced Technology are collaborating on a new project that may serve as a model for automated driving. In May 2023, SoftBank and KRIS announced…
Findability Sciences Inc., a US-headquartered global provider of AI and big data solutions, established a Japan-based joint venture called Findability Sciences K.K. with SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) in 2017. On April 1, 2023, Yasuko Kosaih…
SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) held its 37th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) on June 20, 2023, at Tokyo International Forum. President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa chaired the meeting, which was attended by approximately 750 sharehold…
As the world becomes increasingly digitalized, advancements in IoT devices and sensors have helped convert virtually everything around us into data. And as public institutions and businesses continue to provide more data openly, expectatio…
The utilization of big data in Japan’s healthcare and medical system is lagging behind other developed countries due to legal requirements and systems that use different coding methods, among other reasons. This has made the efficient util…
At the earnings briefing for the fiscal year ended on March 31, 2023 (FY2022) held on May 10, 2023, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa unveiled a new long-term vision that positions SoftBank as a provider of next…
Caviar is renowned as one of the world’s top luxuries. The delicacy is made from the salted eggs, or roe, of sturgeon. The most prized caviar comes from sturgeons native to the Caspian Sea, but they have become greatly endangered due to ov…
With its e-commerce platform ZOZOTOWN supporting over 8,500 brands and 11 million customers in Japan*, ZOZO, Inc. is a well-known Internet apparel pioneer in the country. A SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) group company since 2019, ZOZO also m…
The Institute for AI and Beyond (BAI), a research institute established by The University of Tokyo, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) and others to promote advanced AI research and business activities, held its 3rd International Symposium on Fe…
On September 18, 2022, Yahoo Japan Corporation, a SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) group company, and Kahoku Shimpo Publishing Co., the Sendai-based publisher of a major newspaper in Japan’s Tohoku region, held Tour de Tohoku 2022, a bicycle e…
Around the world, the automotive industry and its customers are grappling with a number of challenges, such as a supply chain squeeze and high prices. Japan’s automotive market is no exception. In recent years, the country has seen lower v…
In delivering the keynote speech at this year’s SoftBank World in Tokyo, Junichi Miyakawa, President & CEO of SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434), pulled no punches. At the online event for enterprise customers, he noted Japan continues to lag be…
When you step out on your day off, the city is less crowded than usual. The cinema is showing that new movie you wanted to see. On the way home, you stop by at a relaxing café. After that, you browse through a bazaar with foodstuffs you wa…
In recent years Japan has been coming to grips with various challenges, such as a shrinking workforce and an increase in natural disasters driven by climate change. Digitalization and digital transformation (DX) are garnering attention as …
The Institute for AI and Beyond held its 2nd International Symposium virtually on February 12, 2022. Among the topics discussed were the strides deep learning has made over the past decade, what we can expect to see in the future, and the …
At SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434), ongoing technology research is key to advancing new business areas related to AI, robotics, as well as the core telecommunications business. To learn more about this and SoftBank’s vision for future technol…
According to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 5.7 million tons of food was discarded in 2019. With Japan’s population of 126 million, that roughly translates to the equivalent of one bowl of rice per person, per day…
Expo 2020 Dubai, the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East and Africa region, opened its doors on October 1, 2021 and will run until March 31, 2022. Originally scheduled to be held approximately a year earlier to commemorate the 5…
What does converging AI with 5G technology make possible? The short answer is the transformation of an enterprise’s operations and processes into digital formats to make it more competitive and responsive in a changing technology world. Ka…
The AI-powered “e-kakashi,” an agriculture science and technology solution from SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434), made business news headlines in October with its launch of an advanced terminal called the “TED Portable IoT Gateway” that collec…
The need to communicate with others who use different languages is universal. Ongoing technological advances in machine translation software are gradually closing the communication gap to enable conversations among those who speak differen…
While AI is becoming indispensable to many aspects of modern life, employers are struggling to find people with the necessary AI skills. Japan is not alone in facing this conundrum. Although the number of AI software system developers in t…
SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) won two CEATEC AWARD 2021 Category Awards on October 18, 2021, the day before the full launch of CEATEC ONLINE 2021. CEATEC is one of the largest international exhibitions of IT technology and electronics in As…
On August 26, 2021, a next-generation, AI-powered supermarket opened its doors in Osaka. The unique Gyomu Super pilot store, owned and operated by retail operator Kobe Bussan Co., Ltd., is using an AI-based system developed by SoftBank Cor…
A recent survey conducted by a group company of SoftBank Corp. found that more than 80 percent of respondents in Japan working in over 25 industries did not know the meaning of DX, and only 23 percent of companies queried said they were en…
Access to clean drinking water and sanitation is essential to daily life, and the infrastructure that enables it is often taken for granted. However, according to the United Nations, worldwide, one in three people do not have access to saf…
Since assuming the post of President & CEO of in April 2021, Junichi Miyakawa has been communicating his vision to transform SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) from a telecommunications carrier into to digital transformation (DX) company. To eff…
On September 7, 2021, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) and Japan’s Aichi Prefecture held a press conference in Tokyo to introduce their new facility that promises to nurture a world-leading start-up ecosystem and center of innovation. The Pref…
With the ongoing shift to online platforms for shopping, work, education and other activities, as well as the profound impact of COVID-19 on people’s lives, smart city planning initiatives are gaining momentum. To make smart cities conveni…
To market more of its products, services and technologies, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) has taken a leaf out of literature. It has adapted the writer’s Golden Rule of Show, Don’t Tell and come up with the counter-intuitive Show, Don’t Sell.
In Tokyo, a state of emergency was declared for the fourth time in July 2021 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and restaurants in the metropolis were once again particularly impacted. The restaurant industry is experiencing a decline in …
The pace of digital transformations (DX) at companies across industries has proceeded at a rapid pace in Japan and other countries thanks to advances in digital technologies, and SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) has been at the forefront of th…
Z Holdings Corporation, the owner of Yahoo Japan Corporation, successfully merged with LINE Corporation on March 1, 2021. At a press conference and briefing for investors to mark the integration, the two Co-CEOs, Kentaro Kawabe and Takeshi…
Constantly taking up new challenges and continuing to evolve are key to SoftBank’s DNA. Going beyond the boundaries of a telecommunications carrier, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is committed to pioneering transformative services, and resea…
The Institute for AI and Beyond, a world-class AI research institute established by the University of Tokyo, SoftBank Corp., SoftBank Group Corp. and Yahoo Japan Corporation that has been conducting joint research since July 2020, held its…
Lippo Karawaci CEO John Riady and SoftBank Corp. Vice President and Head of Global Business Strategy Hidebumi Kitahara announce their cooperation in Jakarta PT Lippo Karawaci Tbk, the largest listed property company in Indonesia, and SoftB…
From left: SoftBank Corp.'s Representative Director & CTO Junichi Miyakawa and Chairman Masayoshi Son, The University of Tokyo's President Makoto Gonokami and Executive Vice President Teruo Fujii On December 6, 2019, the University of Toky…
Starting from December 2018 through to March 2019, in Japan's Aichi Prefecture SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) conducted testing of its “Smart Highway” concept, which uses 5G to improve the driver experience. Some of Japan's expressways have …
On July 18 and 19, SoftBank World 2019 showcased presentations from about 80 IT industry leaders along with 86 exhibits from companies with leading-edge technologies and solutions. The annual event held by SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO:9434) and i…
The sports industry continues to evolve as it incorporates various new technologies, and the front line of sports broadcasting is no exception. SoftBank Corp. is a top partner for B.LEAGUE, Japan’s professional baseball league. B.LEAGUE he…
