Founder of Japan's Softbank to offer free iPhones, pay bills of 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.
11 Comments
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
Kudos where they are due. Particularly that he's not limiting his charity to Softbank customers, that's taking the extra step.
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.
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.