The Internet entrepreneur at the center of a takeover fight that has riveted Japan said yesterday he welcomed recent talk of regulating acquisitions -- a debate set off by his own bid.
Takafumi Horie, president of Internet services company Livedoor Co Ltd, is defying the country's powerful old-guard media by trying to take over radio operator Nippon Broadcasting System Inc, which would also give him managerial influence over a major TV network, Fuji Television Network Inc.
He said Japan's takeover rules are too poorly defined -- and that ensuring more fairness would protect his own interests as well. Livedoor's growth in the past several years has come largely from acquisitions.
Hostile takeovers are still relatively rare in Japan. Fears are growing about cocky young Internet businessmen like Horie, 32, rocking the boat, and foreign investors taking over Japanese companies. Some Japanese politicians have expressed concern about Horie's bid, and have called for restrictions on mergers.
"The Japanese stock market is like a lamb or rabbit in a pack of wolves. It is very dangerous," Horie said of the current rules.
"Unless someone acts, things don't get corrected," he told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo.
Fuji TV, at the center of a media empire, includes a film studio, recording company, publisher and newspaper.
Livedoor now owns about 40 percent of Nippon Broadcasting, the top shareholder in Fuji TV. Horie has said he wants to buy more shares.
Fuji TV executives have repeatedly refused to talk with him, saying an alliance with Livedoor is out of the question.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from