SoftBank Corp, a leading telecom operator in Japan, announced that Masayoshi Son, will step down as chairman of the Board of Directors, and will continue as Board Director and founder as of April 1, 2021.

Ken Miyauchi will be the new chairman of SoftBank. Ken Miyauchi is currently the president and CEO of SoftBank.

Junichi Miyakawa will be the new president and CEO of SoftBank. Junichi Miyakawa is representative director and CTO of SoftBank at present. SoftBank Corp is Japan’s third-largest telcom operator.

SoftBank said it believes that it needs to make changes to management at appropriate times and pass on the strengths of its current management system to future generations. The son of a buddhist priest, Miyakawa is a technical whizz driving projects including the wireless carrier’s 5G build-out.

Regarding the selection of a successor to Ken Miyauchi, the Nominating Committee began deliberations about two years ago, including defining the prerequisites of a successor, and since around the spring of 2020, serious deliberations have been carried out.

Junichi Miyakawa has been appointed successor in light of his knowledge of cutting-edge technologies and his advanced business management capabilities at a time when the business integration between LINE Corporation and the company’s subsidiary Z Holdings Corporation will take place.

Under the leadership of Junichi Miyakawa, SoftBank will promote its “Beyond Carrier” strategy while advancing toward its second growth phase, making full use of technologies such as AI and 5G together with its Group companies while striving to achieve sustainable growth of the telecommunications business.