Softbank Corp.The group's vision fund has injected tens of billions of dollars into start-ups around the world since its inception, but has so far invested zero in Japan. Now, the company is hiring an investment professional, hoping to change that.

According to a recruitment message released by Softbank Corp. Investment Consulting (SoftBank Investment Advisers), which runs the Vision Fund, the company is looking for an investment vice president position in Tokyo to study and recommend domestic companies that Softbank Corp. may invest in or acquire. A spokesman for the Vision Fund confirmed that the company was recruiting the position.

Softbank Corp. CEO Masayoshi son has often criticised the Japanese government for being cautious about new things such as ride-hailing and app sharing, and has avoided investing heavily in domestic start-ups. He said in 2019 that Japan's lack of investment opportunities in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has led the country to lag behind in the global AI competition, and called Japan "a developing country in artificial intelligence."

Softbank Corp. 's existing portfolio covers more than 300 companies in countries ranging from Indonesia to Brazil. American companies account for about 1/3 of the total value of their portfolios, while Chinese and other Asian companies account for nearly half.

"of all the investments made by the Vision Fund, the most frustrating thing is that no one has invested in a Japanese company," Softbank Corp. 's chief financial officer, Yoshimitsu Goto, told investors on an earnings call last week. "We really want Japanese entrepreneurs to create more companies that we can invest in."

Many Japanese technology companies go public before they are valued at $1 billion because of lax requirements for listings of small, high-growth companies. This means that Softbank Corp. Vision Fund will not get a good return if it invests in these companies. Softbank Corp. 's first vision fund has the smallest deal size of about $100m and the largest deal size of several billion dollars. But Vision Fund 2 is downsizing deals and investing in companies in the early stages of growth.