Comment on Moody’s Release Related to Unsolicited Ratings
On August 28, 2026, Moody’s Japan K.K. (“Moody’s”) issued a release regarding SoftBank Group Corp. (“SBG”) titled “Moody's Ratings announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of SoftBank Group Corp.,” authored by Ryohei Nishio and Mariko Semetko. We reaffirm that SBG has not obtained any credit ratings from Moody’s.
Since withdrawing our request for ratings from Moody’s on March 25, 2020, we have neither provided them with any information regarding their ratings nor received any requests for information or inquiries from them for over six years. Moody’s opinions are therefore based solely on their subjective assumptions and hypotheses, with no reasonable factual basis. Since March 2020, we have repeatedly requested that Moody’s remove the unsolicited ratings and change their publication practices to avoid any misinterpretation by investors of the ratings as having been requested by SBG.
We have strongly protested this in the past and, once again, reiterate our request that Moody’s immediately cease the publication of unsolicited credit ratings about SBG that fail to reflect our true state.
Moody’s justify the issuance of unsolicited credit ratings by citing the “benefit of providing information for market participants” and claiming that “sufficient information has been and continues to be available for the assignment and maintenance of its ratings of SBG.” However, discussions with market participants reveal that Moody’s unsolicited credit ratings are not perceived as beneficial information. Furthermore, given that the factual premises underlying Moody’s analysis contained errors, it is clear that neither of these criteria is satisfied.
The continued publication of unsolicited ratings by Moody’s for over six years risks misleading investors in their investment decisions. SBG is exploring all available options, including the possibility of legal action and consultation with the regulatory authority, to address this issue.
Currently, SBG is rated only by S&P Global Ratings (S&P) and Japan Credit Rating Agency, Ltd. (JCR). SBG will continue to provide S&P and JCR with accurate information necessary for their ratings analyses, such as our management strategy, financial policies, and financing matters, through interviews with our management and other means of communication.
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