SoftBank forms joint venture with WeWork

Japan’s SoftBank has forged a joint venture with WeWork Companies to bring WeWork’s novel workspace as a service offering to Japan.

The two companies will each own 50% of the joint venture, which will operate under the name of WeWork Japan.

By entering Japan, WeWork will expand its global community and connect its more than 130,000 members to the innovative and growing Japanese market.

“WeWork is disrupting preconceived notions of work styles and opening up myriad opportunities for the next generation of creators around the world by taking a scientific approach that fully utilizes the latest technologies,” said Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group.

WeWork, a platform for creators, has created an extensive global network of shared workspaces. The company provides an entirely new way to work by offering flexible space, services, and a connected community network to creators, entrepreneurs, small and medium businesses, and multinational companies.

WeWork’s “space as a service” solution enables companies of all sizes to enter and exit markets opportunistically, grow and shrink office footprints according to their needs, and pursue new business lines and ideas in a way that best suits their particular needs.

In offering its services in Japan, WeWork hopes to build connections between non-Japanese members of WeWork’s global network and the creators and businesses that drive the world’s third largest economy.

WeWork has diversified its product offering to better accommodate the needs of enterprise companies, and more than 10% of Fortune 500 companies are members with WeWork.

WeWork plans to launch its first location in Tokyo in early 2018. To oversee this launch and scale its Japanese operations, WeWork has appointed Chris Hill to serve as the CEO of WeWork Japan.