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During the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions made 2020 to 2022 a difficult time for hotel businesses in Japan. Amid this challenging time, Tabist, a SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) group company, was launched to offer new experiences tai…
SoftBank Corp. and Partners Utilize Spatial IDs to Optimize Map Creation Process for Delivery Robots
As Japan’s birth rate declines and its population ages, a shortage of delivery workers looms while the need for deliveries has increased as more people find it difficult to shop at physical stores. Against this backdrop, autonomous deliver…
In light of demographic shifts such as an aging population, a declining birthrate and a shortage of drivers, Japan’s transportation infrastructure is facing challenges as rail and bus services contract in outlying areas. To address these m…
On May 10, 2023, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa presented earnings results for the full fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2023 (FY2022). At the press conference held in Tokyo, Miyakawa began his presentatio…
For users of SoftBank Corp.’s ‘SoftBank’ mobile service in Japan thinking of traveling to the United States, there’s a unique service that may be of interest. Called “America Flat-rate” (or “America-houdai” in Japanese), the service gives …
FTE is short for “Full-Time Equivalent,” a unit used to represent employee workloads for projects and other company activities. The unit is useful for human resource management. As workstyles diversify, FTE is a useful measure While tradit…
Approximately three years after it began offering commercial 5G services to consumers, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) launched its “Private 5G” service for enterprises in Japan on March 29, 2023. SoftBank’s Private 5G is a managed service th…
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…
In Japan, April brings cherry blossoms, a new academic year, and a new fiscal year for businesses. It’s also a time when newly hired employees enter companies en masse. As part of an established hiring norm, many companies in Japan activel…
While Japan was mainly closed to travel when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, 2023 is seeing a revival of tourism as entry requirements ease. Many services and tools are appearing to help make the journey more enjoyable and convenient fo…
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…
Following a previous announcement that it tied up with a US-based autonomous vehicle technology leader May Mobility, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) revealed it began conducting autonomous driving field tests in Tokyo in January 2023. In anti…
Through the ages, as a catalyst for social change, technology has played a key role in advancing humanity. To create new and better technologies, and to implement them into society to make a positive impact, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434)’s …
On February 15, 2023, a ceremony was held to commemorate the establishment of the “Hiroshima University Smart City Co-Creation Consortium.” Inspired by the Government of Japan’s Society 5.0 concept and its Vision for a Digital Garden City …
With many companies using or associated with the “SoftBank” name, it can be difficult to understand how SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) fits into the picture. Here’s a quick primer to clarify SoftBank Corp.’s position. SoftBank Corp.’s parent…
In partnership with the Tokyo Institute of Technology, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) has been researching and developing drone systems to locate people lost in the mountains or buried under rubble caused by natural disasters like earthquake…
Outside Japan, many people may not know about Yahoo! JAPAN services, which widely differ from those of other Yahoo!-branded services around the world. For the unfamiliar, Yahoo! JAPAN is Japan’s largest online platform, logging more than 7…
On February 3, 2023, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa presented earnings results for the nine months ended December 31, 2022 (Q3) of the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2023 (FY2022). At the press conference he…
In the apparel industry, there’s a growing need for new product and marketing strategies that take traditional customer touchpoints, such as brick-and-mortar stores, as well as new digital touchpoints, such as AR, VR and the metaverse, int…
Formulated in 2015 by the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 objectives to be achieved by 2030. With the world now at the halfway point before the 2030 deadline, many considerable challenges remain, in…
On December 15, 2022, a press conference was held in Tokyo to announce the establishment of the Natural Capital Credit Consortium ("NCCC"), an alliance that brings companies, municipalities, and academic researchers together to revitalize …
SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) and its subsidiary HAPSMobile—which are both developing a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business to offer telecommunication services from the stratosphere—are also founding members of the HAPS Alliance,…
J-PHONE’s initial 3G lineup (from left): the V-N701 by NEC, the V-NM701 (Nokia 6650) and the V-SA701 by SANYO Electric 20 years ago on December 20, 2002, J-PHONE Co., Ltd. —an antecedent of SoftBank Corp.’s (TOKYO: 9434) mobile communicati…
Digital Transformation (DX) is a term that continues to gain traction in the business world. While more companies are setting goals to promote DX so they can enhance their competitiveness, many companies are still finding it difficult to i…
What do people usually do when they feel run down or a bit feverish? Chances are that many may feel reluctant to visit a hospital or clinic if their condition is not too serious. Getting an in-person health consultation can often be an ard…
ASKUL Corporation President & CEO Akira Yoshioka and SoftBank Corp. Representative Director & COO Yasuyuki Imai unveil “Biz-Raku,” a new business for small and medium-sized enterprises As reported by SoftBank News in May 2022, SoftBank Cor…
Founded in Germany in 1869 by Ernest Leitz, Leica Camera is an international premium manufacturer of cameras and sports optics. The Leica brand has long been renowned for its combination of German craftsmanship and industrial design with i…
On November 4, 2022, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa presented earnings results for the six months ended September 30, 2022 (Q2) for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2023 (FY2022). At the press conference h…
Sakai Town is a community located 70 kilometers north of Tokyo that has a population of approximately 24,000, with 29% classified as elderly. As the town lacks a railway station, residents were facing serious mobility challenges. As report…
Different forces at play behind major corporate transformations: changes in population and human resources, intensified global competition, ESG demands, among other factors. The pace of change is not expected to abate anytime soon. To set …
Kameoka City, located in Japan’s Kyoto Prefecture and about 20 minutes away from Kyoto Station by rapid train, is a municipality rich in history and natural beauty. The City is also a pioneer in safeguarding the environment. In 2012, it wa…
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…
Situated in the western part of Japan’s island of Shikoku, Iyo City is bordered by a sandy beach and mountainous terrain. The city has approximately 35,000 residents spread across an area close to 200km2. Against this backdrop of natural b…
MEC is short for Multi-access Edge Computing, a technology that can speed up data processing and optimize and accelerate communications by utilizing servers in close proximity to smartphones and IoT devices where data is generated. Achievi…
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…
While Japan was closed to tourism for approximately two years due to the global spread of COVID-19, in June 2022 it reopened its doors to guided tours in limited numbers. In September 2022, Japan began to further relax entry restrictions i…
MFA, which stands for multi-factor authentication, is an authentication method that requires users to combine two or more verification methods that differ in nature. They are typically based on knowledge (something you know, like a passwor…
As reported in June 2021, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to virtually zero by the year 2030 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. On August 31, 2022, SoftBank announced an additional targe…
Earlier this year, the editors of PayPay Inside-Out and SoftBank News teamed up to learn more about the state of cashless payments around the world by checking with PayPay employees, who hail from more than 40 countries and regions. As the…
What’s this floating object in the sky? It’s a tethered balloon equipped with a base station. To commercialize the stratospheric-based telecommunications platform called “HAPS” (High Altitude Platform Station), SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434)…
SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434)’s division in charge of R&D for advanced technologies—including 5G, 6G, and autonomous driving—marked a new beginning as the SoftBank Research Institute of Advanced Technology on April 1, 2022. To learn more ab…
On August 4, 2022, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa presented earnings results for the first quarter (June - April, Q1) of the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2023 (FY2022). At the press conference held in Toky…
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…
Walking through a grocery store, you may have noticed foodstuffs that show the “Halal Certified” mark. “Halal” means “permitted” in Arabic, and when a food product is halal certified, it means that it’s been prepared in accordance with Isl…
Battery life is vital when using a smartphone. Sometimes it’s essential to conserve battery power, especially when you forget to charge up your smartphone or bring a portable charge on the go. Persistent heat can also drain battery life an…
In late June this year, temperatures in Japan reached sweltering record highs. And, amidst a power shortage, the Japanese government called on households and businesses to reduce their energy consumption for the first time in seven years. …
RAN stands for Radio Access Network, a part of the wireless communication system that runs behind the scenes of mobile phone services. An intermediary for mobile phone services A RAN organizes communication data received from smartphones a…
On June 23, 2022, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) opened Japan's first virtual mobile carrier store with shop crew avatars that can serve customers* in ZEPETO, Asia’s largest metaverse platform that has approximately 300 million users. * Acco…
SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) held its 36th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) on June 23, 2022, at Tokyo Portcity Takeshiba. President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa chaired the meeting, which was attended by approximately 50 shareholder…
