Message from External Board Director
—SoftBank Group Report 2026

My relationship with SBG dates back approximately 30 years, to the late 1990s and the dawn of the internet era. At that time, SBG was pursuing a broad range of partnerships with major U.S. internet companies to bring cutting-edge business models to Japan. As a registered foreign lawyer, I was deeply involved in the establishment of many of these joint ventures with U.S. companies, including Yahoo Japan Corporation and E*TRADE Japan. Over time, as SBG expanded its relationships with Internet companies such as Alibaba and broadened its investment focus to mobile and AI, its transactions became increasingly global. Through my involvement in a wide range of transactions, I have observed SBG’s evolution firsthand.

One distinctive feature of SBG that has struck me most through this experience is Mr. Son’s ability not only to identify future technology trends early but also to build relationships with key companies and business leaders that are critical to being at the forefront of those trends. He then seeks to use those relationships as the foundation for new growth platforms. This feature is also evident in SBG’s current AI initiatives. SBG is advancing investments in key AI technologies, including AI models, AI chips, AI infrastructure, and physical AI. These investments should not be viewed solely as stand-alone investments in promising companies, with SBG simply waiting for their growth to materialize. Rather, they are aimed at capturing growth opportunities in the AI era across multiple domains and translating them into future synergistic value creation.

Against this backdrop, the focus of Board discussions has also evolved. The key consideration now is to examine each investment not only from the standpoint of financial soundness but also in terms of how it fits with SBG’s strategic direction and ecosystem, and how it can contribute to the long-term enhancement of asset value. On that basis, the Board also discusses the terms and risks specific to each transaction. This is particularly true as large-scale strategic investments have increased in recent years, requiring the Company to consider how technologies, talent, and partnerships fit into its broader strategic direction. Legal and technological issues have also become increasingly complex.

SBG’s Board is composed of directors with backgrounds that are highly relevant to the Company, including venture capital investment, corporate management, law and governance, and AI. In making decisions, the Board draws on these diverse perspectives and engages in open and constructive discussions.

Considerable care is taken to ensure that the Board has sufficient opportunity for meaningful discussion. Given the speed at which SBG moves and the vast range of initiatives it pursues across multiple technology fields, briefing the Board in advance on every detail is quite challenging. Even so, in my experience, directors are briefed thoroughly and substantively. Before Board meetings, briefing sessions are held for directors, including External Board Directors, to deepen our understanding of the agenda items. This helps us develop a stronger grasp of the investment targets and related issues before entering Board discussions. In addition, after Board meetings, Mr. Son briefs us in an informal setting on expected strategic opportunities and initiatives over the following three to six months. Through this process, External Board Directors can participate in decision-making with a clear understanding of the fundamental opportunities, and— where relevant—challenges underlying the Company’s investments and their execution.

Although the investment in OpenAI is substantial in scale, the Board strongly supports it. SBG views the investment not merely as an equity investment, but as an opportunity to build an important relationship within the AI ecosystem. Through this series of investments, SBG has built a deep and multifaceted relationship with OpenAI. The Board believes OpenAI is a market leader with a significant role to play in the future development of AI, and that maintaining this relationship through investment at this critical juncture is necessary. SBG has achieved significant success in investments such as Yahoo! Inc., Alibaba, and Arm, and I believe OpenAI shares certain characteristics with those companies, including strong market positioning. Subject to a credible path for maintaining appropriate financial discipline, the Board has determined that the OpenAI investment is an appropriate allocation of the Company’s resources to drive NAV growth.

At the same time, certain situations or transactions call for particularly careful discussion. One example was the discussion in 2023, ahead of Arm’s IPO, regarding SBG’s acquisition of Arm shares held by SVF1. The Board considered whether SBG should acquire the Fund’s stake and maintain the Group’s ownership interest, through the IPO, rather than have the Fund sell at the IPO and accept dilution at the Group level. Several directors, including myself, questioned whether an additional investment in Arm was appropriate and whether it would create excessive exposure to a single asset. After extensive discussion, however, the Board decided to proceed with the acquisition, based on the view that Arm should be positioned as a core company in SBG’s strategy. Arm was subsequently listed and has delivered outstanding performance. Maintaining the ownership interest has also expanded SBG’s strategic options for leveraging Arm as a core part of SBG’s AI strategy. In retrospect, I believe the decision was sound from both strategic and financial perspectives.

Since I became an External Board Director in 2021, SBG has shifted its focus from financial investments centered on SoftBank Vision Funds toward strategic investments. As an attorney specializing in M&A, I have worked on numerous complex transactions, designing structures, assessing risks, and helping ensure their successful execution. I draw on this practical experience in Board discussions.

In particular, transaction terms and structures are not merely contractual matters. It is important to understand why deals are structured as they are, what risks their terms may create, and the opportunities and challenges that those terms are intended to address—and to always view these in the larger context of SBG’s medium- to long-term goals. For instance, in the Ampere transaction, we went to special lengths to ensure retention of the core technical teams and to enable the company’s development work to continue in close alignment with SBG’s other semiconductor initiatives. This was critical to advancing value creation across the Group.

Mr. Son’s vision for ASI is ambitious and broad, spanning multiple domains, including not only AI models but also AI chips, AI infrastructure, and physical AI. It is also an area with significant uncertainty. I believe that pursuing growth opportunities while maintaining investment discipline will help maximize shareholder value over the long term. Understanding these aspects of SBG’s complex transactional activities is helpful as we pursue that goal.

I understand that some have expressed concerns about my independence as an External Board Director, given the relationship between my law firm and SBG.^* At the same time, given SBG’s speed and scale, I believe that having a director who understands its transactions in depth can help enhance the effectiveness of Board decision-making. As the representative of a law firm involved in many of SBG’s global investment transactions, I have a deep understanding of the background and key issues behind them. As an External Board Director, I also maintain an appropriate distance from management and offer views from an external perspective, focusing on shareholder representation and value creation. This is possible precisely because a deep understanding of the transactions has helped build a strong relationship of trust with management. At the request of other External Board Directors, I also provide additional context on matters such as the status of a transaction and the key issues involved, thereby contributing to the shared understanding that underpins Board discussions.

SBG is a truly distinctive company on the global stage, powered by Mr. Son’s exceptional insight, speed, and unparalleled global network. I believe stakeholders expect SBG to make full use of these strengths. The Board oversees management from a prudent perspective to ensure that SBG meets these expectations while being managed appropriately and with due care. Serving as an External Board Director of SBG is a demanding role, but I am committed to contributing meaningfully in this capacity.