WIRE REPORTS

Colorado Rockies beat Indians 6-3 Akron Beacon Journal Last year, Germano pitched for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan, compiling a 5-4 record and 4.38 ERA in 14 starts. In 2008, he posted an 0-3 record and ... and more » Hawks' Matsunaka to start season in minors The Japan Times FUKUOKA (Kyodo) Fukuoka Softbank Hawks outfielder Nobuhiko Matsunaka, who had surgery on his right knee during the off-season, is set to begin the season in ... Baseball: Matsunaka to start season in minor league Kyodo News Softbank Hawks outfielder Nobuhiko Matsunaka, who had surgery on his right knee during the offseason, is set to begin the season in the minor league, ... and more » Twitter plans Chinese-language version Media Asia According to William Bao Bean, partner at Softbank China & India Holdings, Twitter would be expected to start from the ground up in China in order to launch ... and more » New Market Study Published: Softbank Corporation - SWOT Analysis Live-PR.com (press release) (live-PR.com) - Datamonitor's Softbank Corporation - SWOT Analysis company profile is the essential source for top-level company data and information. ... and more » PHS has uncertain future in cell phone sector The Japan Times After Willcom Inc., the nation's largest personal handy-phone system service provider, undergoes rehabilitation, will Japan's PHS service ... and more » OfficialWire (press release) Stockroom, Inc. Names Yuko Shiroma Product Manager OfficialWire (press release) She was also the liaison for the company in a joint venture with Japanese telecommunications company Softbank to launch MySpace products in Japan. ... and more » Microsoft's Golden Opportunity Motley Fool (Nasdaq: YHOO) paired up with Softbank. Speaking of Yahoo!, we can't count the Yahooligans out in making a second run at relevance in China if Google bows ... and more » SoftBank to grab a piece of bankrupt Willcom IntoMobile (blog) Actually, that's a “single asset” called eXtended Global Platform (XGP) business, which will be spun off into a separate company that will SoftBank acquire ... and more » Reality Check: The mobile service evolution continues RCR Wireless --Rich Communication Suite (RCS) picks up steam: The GSMA also announced that NTT DoCoMo, Softbank, KDDI, EMobile and NTT Corp., have joined together to ... and more »

DAILY REPORTS

Feb 16 BNP Paribas unit gets record fine The Tokyo Stock Exchange on Tuesday imposed a record fine of ¥180 million on the Japanese unit of French financial giant BNP Paribas SA for violating bourse rules. The TSE said BNP Paribas Securities (Japan) Ltd. discouraged now-defunct real estate developer Urban Corp. from disclosing key corporate information in 2008 and manipulated the share price of Internet conglomerate Softbank Corp. last year. (Japan Times) Feb 2 Softbank group profit soars 63% Softbank Corp. said Tuesday it posted a 63.0 percent rise in group net profit to ¥94.86 billion in the April-December period from a year earlier due to brisk cell phone business. In an earnings statement for the first three quarters of fiscal 2009, Softbank said its group operating profit grew 33.4 percent to ¥366.32 billion and pretax profit rose 61.1 percent to ¥281.19 billion. (Japan Times) Jan 18 SoftBank to establish stolen-phone tracing service SoftBank Mobile Corp. will launch a new online system later this month to help determine whether cell phones sold on the secondhand market are stolen. Stolen cell phones cut off from services recently have been appearing on the secondhand market. With the new system--available on SoftBank's Web site from Jan. 28--the company hopes to prevent people from inadvertently purchasing stolen secondhand cell phones. (Yomiuri) Jan 4 'Netrepreneur' boasts generation-'76 success As the 33-year-old president of an Internet startup company located in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, one could say Shujiro Beppu is a typical "nanaroku sedai," or literally, "generation of '76." The term refers to the generation of information technology and Internet entrepreneurs in Japan born around 1976. These people saw computers entering their everyday lives and are familiar with Internet businesses launched by IT pioneers such as Masayoshi Son of Softbank and Hiroshi Mikitani of Japan's largest e-commerce Web site, Rakuten. (Japan Times) Dec 30 Softbank eyes Willcom acquisition The Softbank group has made an offer to acquire debt-ridden Willcom Inc., the nation's only provider of the personal handyphone system (PHS) service, sources said Monday. The telecom service provider, which includes the nation's third-largest cellphone carrier, Softbank Mobile Corp., apparently hopes to secure Willcom's customer base of about 4.45 million users and its PHS relay station network. (Asahi) Dec 7 Quentin Tarantino stars in new Japanese TV ad Quentin Tarantino may still have a little "Kill Bill" hangover. The Academy Award-winning filmmaker has donned a kimono while filming a TV commercial ad for a Japanese cellphone company. The "Inglourious Basterds" director plays Uncle Tara-chan in the new SoftBank commercial in Japan. In the ad, the filmmaker is seen with the rest of The White family showing off his fighting skills and speaking in Japanese when a blonde woman calls from a cellphone scolding him about something. (allheadlinenews.com) Dec 2 Softbank offering a free iPhone for two-year contract Softbank Corp. will offer new customers Apple Inc.'s iPhone 3GS with 16 gigabytes of memory for free or the 32-gigabyte model for half price. The offer, available between Friday and Jan. 31 for customers signing a two-year contract, will lower the monthly payments for the 32-gigabyte model to ¥480, from ¥960, the Tokyo-based carrier says on its Web site. (Japan Times) Dec 1 Japan's Softbank: Free 16GB iPhone 3GS With Two-Year Commitment Japan carrier Softbank Tuesday introduced a new wrinkle in its attempt to tempt that country's cell phone-hungry citizens into adopting Apple's iPhone. The company said it will give a 16GB iPhone 3GS to anyone willing to sign-up for two years. A 32GB iPhone 3GS is priced at about $6 per month. (cultofmac.com) Nov 30 In Japan, an odd perch for Google: Looking up at the leader In 2001, a fledgling Internet company named Google opened its first overseas office in Japan, eager to tap a huge technology market. But after eight years, Japan is one of a few major countries Google has yet to conquer. The Web giant still trails far behind Yahoo Japan, the front-runner here, operated by the Japanese telecommunications giant Softbank. (New York Times) Nov 13 Chinese cyberspace abuzz over Japanese investment in networking site Chinese Internet forums are abuzz over an investment by Japanese investment company Softbank into a popular Chinese social networking site, state media reported Friday. After finding out about the venture, some users have closed their accounts on Renren.com, a social networking site popularly known as the Chinese Facebook, with some college students spreading the word among peers to delete their personal information on the site, China Daily reported. (AP) Nov 11 Quentin Tarantino stars in Japanese SoftBank cell phone commercial Quentin Tarantino has become "Uncle Tara-chan" in popular "White family" Japanese SoftBank commercial series. It was revealed at a SoftBank press conference on November 10th that Tarantino has acted in an undisclosed number of commercials to be aired within the next few months for the mobile giant. The cute, but rather bizarre, commercial series revolves around a Japanese family of four named The White's. (examiner.com) Nov 10 Japan's Softbank to launch Google phone in spring Softbank Corp, Japan's No.3 wireless carrier, said it will add to its lineup its first phone using Google Inc's Android operating system in the spring, following similar launches by NTT DoCoMo and Verizon Wireless. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son declined to say on Tuesday who will manufacturer its Android phone, but said the phone would feature an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen and that it had yet to go on sale. (Reuters) Oct 29 Softbank profit doubles as its mobile business expands Softbank Corp., which runs the only Japanese mobile operator to offer the iPhone, said profit doubled in the latest quarter as its cellular business continued to expand. Net profit was ¥43.37 billion during the July-September period, up from ¥21.75 billion a year earlier, the company said Thursday. (Japan Times) Sep 12 Japanese talent shop to go private Yoshimoto Kogyo, a major talent shop with wide-ranging media interests, announced on Friday that it plans to go private after accepting a buyout deal from an investment group. The deal, said to be worth $543 million, was inked between Yoshimoto and Quantum Entertainment, a consortium of 14 companies -- including Yahoo! Japan, ad shop Dentsu, mobile communications giant Softbank and Japan's five major TV networks -- led by former Sony chairman Nobuyuki Idei. (Variety) Jul 31 Softbank outshines DoCoMo in Japan's cellphone battle Japanese mobile telephone operator Softbank announced Thursday a surge in first-quarter profits, outshining its bigger rival NTT DoCoMo Inc. whose earnings sank amid tough competition. Softbank, Japan's number three cellphone operator, said its net profit jumped 41 percent in the April-June quarter to 27.38 billion yen (288 million dollars), helped by increased revenue from handset sales and operating fees. (AFP) Jul 4 KDDI may invest more in WiMax venture KDDI Corp, Japan's No.2 wireless operator, could invest more in a new WiMax venture as it hunts for market share in data services, its president said on Friday. The company, which competes with sector leader NTT DoCoMo Inc and No.3 Softbank Corp in a saturated market, hopes demand for high-speed Internet downloads and uploads on the run will help expand its revenue streams over the long term. (Reuters) Jun 26 Hundreds show up to buy latest iPhone About 200 people lined up Friday morning in Tokyo's Omotesando district for the chance to buy Apple Inc.'s new iPhone 3GS, the latest model in the iPhone series and Softbank Corp.'s mobile phone lineup. (Japan Times) Jun 9 Softbank Mobile to release Apple's new iPhone on June 26 in Japan Corp. said Tuesday it will start selling the iPhone 3GS on June 26 in Japan, a new version of Apple Inc.'s smartphone that boasts faster performance than the current version. The iPhone 3GS, better capable of shooting and editing video, sells at 23,040 yen for its 16 gigabyte model and 34,560 yen for a 32GB model, Softbank Mobile, a phone unit of Softbank Corp., said. (AP) May 28 Gonzalez breaks Giants record With starter Dicky Gonzalez dealing, the Central League-leading Yomiuri Giants looked as strong as ever. The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks simply looked like they'd been dealt a bad hand. Gonzalez took care of things on the mound, Michihiro Ogasawara, Shinnosuke Abe and Alex Ramirez each homered, and the Giants cruised to an 8-2 win over the Hawks in front of 42,218 fans on Thursday at Tokyo Dome. (Japan Times) May 19 NTT DoCoMo To Sell Mobile Phones Using Google's Android NTT DoCoMo Inc. (9437.TO), Japan's largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, said Tuesday that it plans to sell a handset that uses Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating system in Japan as early as next month to compete with Apple Inc.'s (APPL) iPhone offered by Softbank Corp. (CNN) May 19 Softbank unveils summer handsets Softbank Mobile Corp. unveiled its new summer phone lineup Tuesday, including a solar model and a handset designed by Giorgio Armani. The nation's third-largest mobile phone carrier said the first of 19 new models will start hitting store shelves by the end of the month. (Japan Times) May 5 Japan ready to pump $10 billion into 3.9G network infrastructure Japan already has the most advanced cell phone infrastructure in the world and it seems it will get even better and faster in the very near future. The country's four major cell phone carriers (NTT, KDDI, SoftBank and Emobile) say they intend to invest a total of $10 billion into 3.9-generation cell phone services. (crunchgear.com) Apr 30 Softbank sinks to ¥15 billion loss on recession, Internet service Softbank Corp., the nation's third-biggest mobile carrier, said Thursday that it sank into a loss in the January-March quarter due to one-time costs, including the launch of a superfast Internet service. (Japan Times) Apr 15 Man behind SoftBank ad loves challenge A series of advertisements for SoftBank Mobile Corp. featuring a white dog as the father of a human family among other creations has brought its creator, Yoshimitsu Sawamoto, the advertising industry's top prize for the third time in his career. (Yomiuri) Apr 13 Softbank says to post $748 mln special loss Softbank Corp (9984.T), Japan's third-biggest mobile phone operator, said on Friday it would post a special loss of 75 billion yen ($748 million) for the year just ended. (Reuters) [ More... ]