Yahoo Japan Corporation
| File:Yahoo! Japan logo.svg | |
| Company type | Public (until 2019), Holding company (2019–2023) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet services, Web portal |
| Founded | January 1, 1996 |
| Founder | SoftBank, Yahoo! Inc. |
| Defunct | 2023 |
| Fate | Merged into LY Corporation |
| Headquarters | Tokyo , Japan |
Area served | Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia (via Line) |
| Products | Yahoo! Japan web portal and related services |
| Owner | SoftBank Group (via Z Holdings) |
| Parent | Z Holdings (from 2019) |
was a Japanese provider of web services, established in 1996 as a collaborative venture between SoftBank and Yahoo! Inc. It transitioned into a holding company under Z Holdings, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group, in 2019. Following the integration of Line Corporation into ZHD in 2021, Yahoo! Japan merged with ZHD and its subsidiaries, including Line, in 2023 to form LY Corporation. The company managed Yahoo! Japan, recognized as Japan’s most frequented website with an almost monopolistic market share.
History
In January 1996, Yahoo! and SoftBank introduced Yahoo! Japan, marking Japan’s inaugural web portal, which officially launched on April 1, 1996. The firm went public on the JASDAQ in November 1997 and achieved a milestone in January 2000 by becoming the first Japanese stock to exceed ¥100 million per share. It subsequently transferred its listing to the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2003 and was included in the prestigious Nikkei 225 index by 2005.
When Verizon Communications acquired Yahoo’s main U.S. internet operations in 2017 and merged them with AOL under the Oath brand, Yahoo! Japan remained independent, continuing as a joint entity between SoftBank and the entity later known as Altaba. Unlike the declining Yahoo! U.S., Yahoo! Japan preserved its leadership within Japan’s internet sector. After this transaction, Yahoo! Japan licensed the "Yahoo!" trademark from Verizon. In July 2018, SoftBank raised its ownership to 48.17% by acquiring $2 billion worth of shares from Altaba; concurrently, Yahoo! Japan repurchased nearly an equivalent amount of shares from SoftBank. Altaba divested its remaining holdings for approximately $4.3 billion in September 2018. By 2021, Yahoo! Japan had secured the trademark rights for "Yahoo!" within Japan from Verizon.
In March 2021, Yahoo! Japan rebranded as Z Holdings and completed a merger with LINE Corporation. Within this framework, Naver Corporation (the former parent of Line) and SoftBank Corp. each possess a 50% stake in A Holdings Corp., which holds a controlling interest in Z Holdings overseeing Line and Yahoo! Japan operations. This consolidation seeks to establish a formidable contender against global technology leaders such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, as well as domestic competitor Rakuten. Additionally, it enhances Z Holdings’ footprint across Asian markets where Line maintains strong popularity: Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Industry affiliations
Yahoo! Japan was instrumental in founding the Japan Association of New Economy (JANE), initially known as the Japan e-business association, which was spearheaded by Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani in February 2010. Following Rakuten’s withdrawal from the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) in June 2011 and its effort to position JANE as an alternative organization, Yahoo! Japan departed from JANE in March 2012 and joined Keidanren in July of the same year.
See also
External links
- Technology companies established in 1996
- Mass media companies established in 1996
- Japanese companies established in 1996
- Technology companies disestablished in 2023
- Mass media companies disestablished in 2023
- Japanese companies disestablished in 2023
- 1997 initial public offerings
- 2021 mergers and acquisitions
- Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
- Companies in the Nikkei 225
- Internet technology companies of Japan
- Former joint ventures