SoftBank Group Corp. Chairman and President Masayoshi Son on Wednesday posted on Twitter that he would "like to offer polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests free of charge for those who are anxious about the new coronavirus, preliminarily to roughly a million people," but about two hours later, he retracted his statement.
On Tuesday evening, Son resumed posting on the social media site for the first time in roughly three years. With regard to the new strain of pneumonia, he tweeted things along the lines of "[we're] considering whether we are able to make any contributions," and the following day he announced the decision to offer PCR tests free of charge. However, after receiving many negative opinions from Twitter users, such as "getting involved in the medical field will just cause confusion," Son rescinded the offer, saying, "Due to poor reception, it may be best to not move forward [with the idea]."
"[Son] was considering it as an individual, but after taking various opinions into account, [the offer] was retracted," an official of the company's information office explained. Son received much attention when he personally donated 10 billion yen to the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake nine years ago.
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