Never miss an update Follow AppleInsider
Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 06:00 pm
Founder of Japan's Softbank to offer free iPhones, pay bills of orphans
Softbank founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son has rushed to help feed and shelter dislocated victims of the Japanese quake, pledging to replace iPhones and cover the mobile bills of the disaster's orphans.Son visited the city of Tamura, one of the areas hardest hit by the Fukushima nuclear power plant failure, and announced plans to help 1,200 people relocate to Takeo, Saga, where Son is from, paying their living costs while helping them to find jobs, according to a report by Engadget.
Son has used Twitter to look for suggestions for ways to help effectively Japanese quake victims, and took the advice of people asking him to cover the mobile bills of orphans in order to help them stay in contact with friends and family.
Son has said he will both provide free phones and service coverage to quake orphans, and pledged to provide replacement iPhones for any who had lost or damaged theirs during the earthquake and tsunami disaster. Son has even said he would help orphans on other networks, including the larger NTT DoCoMo.
Son is ethnically Korean, making his philanthropy particularly notable in a country that has long maintained a negative perception of outsiders, and particularly Koreans, who make up the largest ethnic minority in the country.
As a teenager, Son moved with his family to South San Francisco, California and attended UC Berkeley, creating a fortune as a young entrepreneur by importing Space Invaders video games on the tech savvy campus.
Son subsequently became known for losing the most money of any single person in history after the DotCom crash erased $70 billion of his wealth, but with a net worth of $7 billion, he remains Japan's richest person.
On Topic: iPhone
- Rumor: Apple to vastly expand color options with this year's 'iPhone 5S' & low-cost iPhone
- Apple granted patents on push-to-talk, double-sided touch panel
- Samsung Galaxy S4 & Google Now accused of violating Apple patents for Siri
- AT&T to bring FaceTime over cellular to all customers by end of year
- Apple debuts new iPhone discounts, subsidies to gain ground in India
Previous Comments View All
Kudos where they are due. Particularly that he's not limiting his charity to Softbank customers, that's taking the extra step.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IVK 
You'd NEVER see these things in America. In America the businesses would demand bailouts after a Tsunami, lay off workers ASAP, then shift those jobs overseas and raise bonuses for CEO and other top executives.
You'd NEVER see these things in America. In America the businesses would demand bailouts after a Tsunami, lay off workers ASAP, then shift those jobs overseas and raise bonuses for CEO and other top executives.
And the Japanese people are so polite and patient. You know what else you'd NEVER see in America. A national champion sports team winning the title AND NOT have rioting in the streets in the name of celebration. New Orleans citizenry, run by corrupt and inept politicians that put them in their lot, DEMANDING restitution by the Federal Government. Citizenry union thugs showing up at CEO's homes to protest and scaring the children that live there, union state worker thugs that invade their statehouse demanding they keep their power to SCREW the taxpayer citizenry that pays their sorry ass, so they can, when good economic times return demand outrageous benefits to be paid on the backs of the taxpayers and so the unions can keep funneling the money into politics that demand spread the wealth.
Be sure to paint the whole picture. See it's about culture, East vs West and not businesses with their corrupt CEOs or union bosses, corrupt politicians, union thugs and AstroTurf protesters.
Hollywood can go "Gung Ho" all they want, but they'll never capture or appreciate the ways of Japan and the Far East.
At one level, it is truly wonderful.
But at another level, troubling.
Why only orphans? Why not the old, the infirm, someone who lost everything, someone whose business (and therefore ability to employ locals, say) depends on getting back on a phone line, etc?
I realize that there is never enough money -- and I honestly do not wish to ake away from a magnificent gesture -- but these types of choices nonetheless leave me troubled.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
At one level, it is truly wonderful.
But at another level, troubling.
Why only orphans? Why not the old, the infirm, someone who lost everything, someone whose business (and therefore ability to employ locals, say) depends on getting back on a phone line, etc?
I realize that there is never enough money -- and I honestly do not wish to ake away from a magnificent gesture -- but these types of choices nonetheless leave me troubled.
At one level, it is truly wonderful.
But at another level, troubling.
Why only orphans? Why not the old, the infirm, someone who lost everything, someone whose business (and therefore ability to employ locals, say) depends on getting back on a phone line, etc?
I realize that there is never enough money -- and I honestly do not wish to ake away from a magnificent gesture -- but these types of choices nonetheless leave me troubled.
While he's at it, why doesn't he pick up the tab for the whole disaster. You are the one that is troubling and truly pathetic.
Well, Softbank is no Goldman Sachs that's for sure. And that's a compliment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rot'nApple
And the Japanese people are so polite and patient. You know what else you'd NEVER see in America. A national champion sports team winning the title AND NOT have rioting in the streets in the name of celebration. New Orleans citizenry, run by corrupt and inept politicians that put them in their lot, DEMANDING restitution by the Federal Government. Citizenry union thugs showing up at CEO's homes to protest and scaring the children that live there, union state worker thugs that invade their statehouse demanding they keep their power to SCREW the taxpayer citizenry that pays their sorry ass, so they can, when good economic times return demand outrageous benefits to be paid on the backs of the taxpayers and so the unions can keep funneling the money into politics that demand spread the wealth.
Be sure to paint the whole picture. See it's about culture, East vs West and not businesses with their corrupt CEOs or union bosses, corrupt politicians, union thugs and AstroTurf protesters.
Hollywood can go "Gung Ho" all they want, but they'll never capture or appreciate the ways of Japan and the Far East.
And the Japanese people are so polite and patient. You know what else you'd NEVER see in America. A national champion sports team winning the title AND NOT have rioting in the streets in the name of celebration. New Orleans citizenry, run by corrupt and inept politicians that put them in their lot, DEMANDING restitution by the Federal Government. Citizenry union thugs showing up at CEO's homes to protest and scaring the children that live there, union state worker thugs that invade their statehouse demanding they keep their power to SCREW the taxpayer citizenry that pays their sorry ass, so they can, when good economic times return demand outrageous benefits to be paid on the backs of the taxpayers and so the unions can keep funneling the money into politics that demand spread the wealth.
Be sure to paint the whole picture. See it's about culture, East vs West and not businesses with their corrupt CEOs or union bosses, corrupt politicians, union thugs and AstroTurf protesters.
Hollywood can go "Gung Ho" all they want, but they'll never capture or appreciate the ways of Japan and the Far East.
I'm sorry, your anti-US rant just isn't true. Did you know that total philanthropic giving in Japan amounts to only about 3 million dollars per year. Whereas in the US it is 3 BILLION? Japanese people, even CEOs, do not give anywhere near as much money or resources to helping others as their American counterparts.
Read this article and educate yourself:
http://www.nature.com/news/2007/0710...l/450024a.html
Also, it is silly to use New Orleans (already the armpit of America even before Katrina) as representative of all of America. That would be like letting the yakuza organized crime represent all of Japan..
Finally, as someone who lives in Japan and is fluent in Japanese, I am always amazed by Americans' ridiculous overly-positive, completely fictional, romantic stereotypes of Japan.
How did this morph into an anti-union rant? 
You would never see AT&T or Verizon doing anything like that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1984
How did this morph into an anti-union rant?
How did this morph into an anti-union rant?
Welcome to the Internet, where no thread highjacking opportunity goes to waste.
--
Well done, Mr. Son.
Latest Apple Headlines
-
Rumor: Apple to vastly expand color options with this year's 'iPhone 5S' & low-cost iPhone
~1 hour ago -
Apple's fifth-gen iPad rumored to debut after 'iPhone 5S,' feature rear mic
~2 hours ago -
Microsoft caught lying about tablet size in comparison to Apple's iPad
~2 hours ago -
Apple's iAd first major mobile ad-network to get Media Ratings Council accreditation
~3 hours ago -
Dubai hotel provides guests with iMacs, 24-karat gold iPad
~3 hours ago - more...
Want to write for AppleInsider? Submit your application now!
| Model | White | Black | |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPad mini (WiFi only) | |||
| 16GB WiFi |  |
$329.99 | $329.99 |
| 32GB WiFi | |
$429.99 | $429.99 |
| 64GB WiFi | |
$529.99 | $529.99 |
| iPad mini (WiFi + 4G) | |||
 |
 |
 |
|
| 16GB 4G White | $459.99 | $459.99 | $459.99 |
| 32GB 4G White | $559.99 | $559.99 | $559.99 |
| 64GB 4G White | $659.99 | $659.99 | $659.99 |
| 16GB 4G Black | $459.99 | $459.99 | $459.99 |
| 32GB 4G Black | $559.99 | $559.99 | $559.99 |
| 64GB 4G Black | $659.99 | $659.99 | $659.99 |
Lowest Prices Anywhere!
| Model | Price | You Save |
|---|---|---|
| Core i5 MacBook Pros w/ Retina | ||
| 13" 2.5GHz/8GB/128GB | $1,406.48 | $292.52 |
| 13" 2.5GHz/8GB/256GB | $1,479.99 | $519.01 |
| 13" 2.5GHz/8GB/512GB | $1,699.99 | $799.01 |
| Core i7 MacBook Pros w/ Retina | ||
| 13" 2.9GHz/8GB/256GB | $1,599.99 | $599.01 |
| 13" 2.9GHz/8GB/512GB | $1,799.99 | $899.01 |
| 15" 2.3GHz/8GB/256GB | $1,899.99 | $299.01 |
| 15" 2.6GHz/8GB/512GB | $2,299.99 | $568.01 |
| 15" 2.7GHz/16GB/768GB | $2,699.99 | $499.01 |
Much kudos, that is awesome. This along with the fact that the corporations over there agreed to scrape the corporate tax cuts are why I respect that country so much. You'd NEVER see these things in America. In America the businesses would demand bailouts after a Tsunami, lay off workers ASAP, then shift those jobs overseas and raise bonuses for CEO and other top executives.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_keidanren