SoftBank has high hopes for WeWork Japan

WeWork has been criticized for how much it hemorrhages cash, lacking profitability in most of its markets, except for Japan.

According to its majority owner, SoftBank Group, the Japanese unit of the New York-based office space company will soon be in the green.

SoftBank most recently said WeWork Japan will become profitable “in the near future” thanks to the high occupancy rates across its 23 locations in the country.

By contrast, WeWork NYC has 66 locations.

WeWork Japan has 240 employees, according to SoftBank Corp. CEO Ken Miyauchi, who spoke during an earnings news conference.

The remarks came after SoftBank's billionaire founder Masayoshi Son told colleagues that "we created a monster" — a reference to WeWork.

SoftBank is also said to have imposed stricter governance standards on dual-class share structures after WeWork sought a bailout and scrapped its initial public offering.

SoftBank is a Tokyo-based telecommunications conglomerate and considered Japan's third largest telco. It just reported a 9 percent rise in second-quarter operating profit.

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