TOKYO (AP) — Japan Internet conglomerate Softbank Corp. said Monday its CEO Masayoshi Son will donate $120 million of his personal wealth plus his salary until he retires to help tsunami victims.
Softbank, the only Japanese mobile carrier offering the iPhone, will also give away mobile phone handsets to tsunami orphans and pay their phone bills until the children turn 18, said company spokeswoman Makiko Ariyama.
Son's 10 billion yen donation to the Japanese Red Cross Society and other nonprofit organizations is the biggest by an individual to quake and tsunami victims, Ariyama said.
Son, 53, will also donate all of his annual salary each year to aid organizations until he retires.
His salary was 108 million yen ($1.3 million) in the fiscal year through March 2010. Apart from Son's personal wealth and salary, Softbank said the company will give one billion yen to the Japanese Red Cross to support the disaster victims.
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami decimated much of northeast Japan, killing up to 25,000 people. The government recently launched a study to track the number of tsunami orphans.
Softbank is the latest in a string of Japanese companies offering financial support for tsunami victims.
The founder of Japan's casual clothing chain Uniqlo has announced he would donate 1 billion yen (about $12 million) from his personal wealth to the Japanese Red Cross Society. The popular clothing chain will also give away 400 million yen.
Sony Corp. will donate around 900 million yen. Toyota Motor Corp. will give 300 million yen, with Honda Motor Co. Ltd. donating the same amount.
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