A year ago, at the height of the pandemic boom in all things digital, Son Masayoshi embodied in the flesh the futuristic promise of global tech. The flamboyant founder of SoftBank Group, a telecoms-and-software firm turned tech-investment powerhouse, reported the highest ever annual profit for a Japanese company, driven by soaring valuations of the public and private technology darlings in its vast portfolio.
Twelve months later Mr Son and his company are once again the face of tech, which like Masa, as he is universally known, is dealing with rising interest rates, deteriorating balance-sheets, investor disillusionment and, for good measure, China’s crackdown on its digital
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