Jack Ma: Professor at Tokyo College

Entrepreneurship seminars, as well as sustainable agriculture and food production will be a topic for the founder of Alibaba

As a visiting professor at Tokyo College, the founder of giant Alibaba, Jack Ma, returns to the public sphere after his long “disappearance” when he criticized China’s technology suppression policy.

As part of his role as a university teacher, the entrepreneur will be involved in projects on sustainable agriculture and food production and also give entrepreneurship seminars.

“disappearance” and return

Ma was for years China’s most famous business leader and did not hesitate to give frequent interviews to foreign media. But he stepped back from the spotlight after his criticism of Chinese regulators culminated in late 2020 with the cancellation of a large $37 billion initial public offering by Ant Group, a subsidiary of fintech Alibaba.

According to the Financial Times, Ma has spent much of the past year in central Tokyo, keeping his public appearances and activities to a minimum as China implements a zero Covid policy in the country. The cancellation of Ant’s IPO has prompted a flurry of regulatory action against the country’s largest tech giants, including a record $2.8 billion fine on Alibaba for anti-competitive behavior.

In recent months, Beijing has repeatedly indicated that regulatory issues related to the Internet industry have been resolved in an effort to boost investor and business confidence.

Ma returned to mainland China in March to back Alibaba Chief Executive Daniel Zhang’s plans to restructure the group into six separate units in a bid to reverse the stock’s decline.

relationship with Japan

Brian Wong, former Alibaba CEO and author of The Tao of Alibaba, commented that the e-commerce giant’s founder, Ma’s return to China had a high symbolic value because it somehow signified business confidence in the country.

Regarding Jack Ma’s role in Tokyo, Wong indicated that he has always enjoyed visiting Japan, that he respects its culture a lot, loves food, and has friends there.