Z Holdings chief: Line, Yahoo user IDs to be consolidated

The Yomiuri Shimbun

19:22 JST, March 2, 2022

Kentaro Kawabe, president of Z Holdings Corp., the parent company of Yahoo Japan Corp. and Line Corp., told The Yomiuri Shimbun that the user IDs for its two subsidiaries will be consolidated to make it more convenient for users.

“We will maximize the user-friendliness of both services,” said Kawabe, who also serves as the president of Yahoo Japan, during an online interview held before the one-year anniversary marking Z Holdings’ merger with Line Corp. on March 1, 2021.

Currently, the user IDs for the two services are completely separate.

Z Holdings and Line had previously announced a policy to consolidate user IDs, but the consolidation was forced to be suspended after it was discovered that companies in China were allowed to view user information on Line.

“We want to make it easier for our customers to use information that is managed in an integrated manner with Z Holdings’ services,” Kawabe said.

With the integration of user IDs, customers will be able to collect and use reward points from various services operated by Z Holdings subsidiaries.

Z Holdings strengthened its internet sales business after the merger. By integrating services from Yahoo, online stationery seller Askul Corp. and food delivery service operator Demae-can Co., a subsidiary of Line Corp., Z Holdings started a service to deliver foods and daily necessities in as little as 15 minutes from when the order is placed.

“Thanks to the merger, we were able to build so-called quick commerce, which is a completely new type of e-commerce,” said Line President Takeshi Idezawa.