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By Sam Nussey and Anton Bridge
TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's plan to invest billions in AI in the United States shows one way to handle the new Trump administration: go big and deal with the details later.
For a Japan Inc anxious about how to navigate the second term of President Donald Trump - and the threat of steep tariffs or other punitive measures - that approach may not be so easy to replicate.
Son has appeared with Trump twice since the November presidential election, last month pledging to invest $100 billion in the U.S. and this week partnering with OpenAI and Oracle on a $500 billion AI infrastructure venture called Stargate.
Many of the details are still unclear, including how the venture will be funded and what SoftBank's commitment will be. But Son's approach show how flashy investment announcements may win over Trump, although that strategy likely won't be easily to mimic for more traditional Japanese corporations.
"More investment in the mainland USA is always something that will be welcomed by the Trump administration," said Kunihiko Miyake, a former diplomat who is now research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies think tank.
"Mr. Son is not an ordinary Japanese. Even if his methodology is good and successful, I don't think that ordinary Japanese business people can do the same."
For one, Son's ability to make big decisions quickly goes against the "traditional orthodoxy" of Japanese companies, Miyake said, in reference to Japan Inc's emphasis on careful, long-term planning.
Son himself is well known for making bold predications and splashy announcements which haven't always played out.
The businessman once said the Internet of Things would be the "greatest paradigm shift in the history of humankind" and SoftBank poured billions into startup WeWork, which later went bankrupt.
Trump this week said he could impose tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as early as Feb 1. That possibility has weighed on Japan for months, sparking concern among automakers that export from particularly Mexico into the United States.
Unlike Son, Japan's Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba has yet to meet Trump.
'GOLDEN AGE'
At the latest meeting, Son said he decided to invest because of Trump.
"This is a the beginning of (a) golden age of America," Son said at the launch at the White House.
"We wouldn't have decided unless you won," he told Trump.
SoftBank's shares jumped roughly 11% in Tokyo following the news.