Yahoo! Japan

History and Industry Affiliations - Yahoo! Japan was founded in 1996 as a joint venture between SoftBank and Yahoo! Inc. - It went live on April 1, 1996. - Yahoo! Japan was listed on JASDAQ in November 1997. - In January 2000, it became the first stock in Japanese history to trade for more than ¥100 million per share. - The company was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2003 and became part of the Nikkei 225 stock market index in 2005. - Yahoo! Japan was a founding member of the Japan Association of New Economy (JANE) in February 2010. - It later joined Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) in July 2012. - Yahoo! Japan withdrew from JANE in March 2012. - Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani led JANE. - Yahoo! Japan's partnership with Google on search engine technology is set to expire in 2025. Design - Yahoo! Japan continues to use a site design similar to the one used prior to 2007 internationally. - The international Yahoo logo used before 2013, colored red, is also used. - The design has remained consistent over the years. - It maintains a recognizable and familiar look. - The design is distinct from the design used by Yahoo! internationally. Services - Yahoo! Japan offers various web-based services and apps. - Ymobile, a subsidiary of SoftBank, provides mobile telecommunications and ADSL services. - Yahoo! Japan Mail is a separate service operated in Japan. - Yahoo! Japan Auctions is Japan's largest Internet auction service. - Yahoo! Japan T-Point is a rewards program for earning and redeeming points. Recent Developments and Acquisition/Partnerships - In 2019, Yahoo! Japan changed to a holding company structure and came under Z Holdings, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group. - In 2021, Line Corporation also became part of ZHD. - In 2023, Yahoo Japan merged with ZHD and its five subsidiaries to form LY Corporation. - Yahoo! Japan is aiming to compete with U.S. tech giants Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, as well as Chinese tech giants Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent. - The merger with Line gives Z Holdings access to additional Asian markets: Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia. - Verizon bought Yahoo's core business for $4.8 billion in a digital ad push. - SoftBank tightened its grip on Yahoo Japan through a $2 billion deal with Altaba. - Yahoo Japan operator, Line, merged to take on foreign tech giants. - Yahoo Japan obtained trademark rights for the Yahoo brand for 178 billion yen. - Yahoo Japan weighed ending its search engine deal with Google. Other Facts and Statistics - Yahoo Japan's future looks bright unlike its U.S. counterpart. - Yahoo Japan decided to keep its name and services despite the U.S. sale. - GeoCities, a part of internet history, died in March 2019. - Yahoo Japan's website became unavailable to most of Europe. - T-Mobile US holds a 4.5% stake in Yahoo! Japan, and GungHo Online Entertainment holds 3.80%.