SoftBank’s Son says Japan is ‘stupid’ to disallow ride-sharing
SoftBank’s Son says Japan is ‘stupid’ to disallow ride-sharing.
‘Ride-sharing is prohibited by law in Japan. I can’t
believe there is still such a stupid country’
SoftBank
and its nearly $100 billion Vision Fund have invested in ride-sharing firms
Uber, Didi, Ola and Grab, as well as in other technology companies
TOKYO:
SoftBank Group Corp. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son blasted Japan on Thursday
for not allowing ride-sharing services, calling it “stupid” and saying the
country was lagging overseas rivals in areas such as artificial intelligence
(AI).
“Ride-sharing is prohibited by law in Japan. I can’t
believe there is still such a stupid country,” Son said at an annual company
event aimed at customers and suppliers.
The
comments reflect Son’s frustration with Japan where he built SoftBank’s
domestic telecoms business, the cash engine that has powered his investments.
The group has, however, focused its growing range of technology investments
overseas.
Son
has also been highly critical of the government previously when SoftBank was
still a fledgling telecoms service trying to break up a cozy duopoly in Japan.
“A country that gives up on the future has no future,”
Son told attendees at the SoftBank World event, saying Japanese business is
lagging behind countries such as the United States and China in employing AI.
Japan
outlaws non-professional drivers from transporting paying customers on safety
grounds and the country’s taxi industry lobby has vigorously opposed
deregulation.
Its
strict rules have confined ride-sharing firms to providing limited services,
with SoftBank and China’s Didi Chuxing saying on Thursday they will trial a
taxi-hailing service — matching users to pre-existing taxi operators — in Osaka
beginning autumn of 2019. Uber is also piloting a taxi-hailing service.
When
asked for a response to Son’s comments, a spokesman for the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, and Transport said that an issue with ride-sharing services was
that while the driver was in charge of transporting passengers, it was unclear
who was in charge of maintenance and operation.
“The ministry believes that offering these services for a
fee poses problems from the points of both safety and user protection, and
careful consideration is necessary,” he said.
Ride-sharing
is not the only service in Japan feeling the impact of government restrictions.
Strict new rules on home-sharing came into force last month that have radically
reduced the number of lettings on sites such as Airbnb Inc.
The
curbs on Japan’s nascent sharing economy come despite a rapid rise in the
number of inbound tourists likely to access such sharing services, and at a
time when Japan is wanting to show its international face ahead of hosting the
Rugby World Cup next year and the Summer Olympics in 2020.
While
Son, an ethnic Korean born in Japan, has at times criticized the Japanese
government, he can also be politically suave. He has praised US President
Donald Trump with warm words and pledged to invest billions of dollars and
create thousands of jobs in the United States.
SoftBank
and its nearly $100 billion Vision Fund have invested in ride-sharing firms
Uber Technologies Inc, Didi, India’s Ola and Southeast Asia’s Grab, as well as
in other technology companies.
The
event on Thursday saw presentations from executives at portfolio companies
including Didi, General Motors’ autonomous vehicle unit Cruise and India
digital payments firm Paytm E-Commerce Pvt Ltd.
Artificial intelligence is the common thread
linking these companies, Son said, with that technology in the future able
drive veh
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