In an interview with Nishinippon Shimbun, Takeshi Idezawa, the president of Tokyo-based chat app LINE said he plans to expand the company’s Fukuoka-based subsidiary, LINE Fukuoka, to equal the size of the Tokyo headquarters before the end of the calendar year. LINE Fukuoka, which opened in November 2013, currently employs 570 people, but will be expanded to roughly the same size as the Tokyo parent (which now employs about 790 people) and will serve as the company’s second hub in Japan. According to Idezawa, LINE Fukuoka already has the “same level of planning and development know-how” as Tokyo, and the city of Fukuoka attracts “talent you can’t get in other cities.” LINE Fukuoka’s employees include foreigners from 10 countries and regions. Meanwhile, the construction of the company’s Fukuoka office building, for which ground was supposed to be broken in April 2014, has been delayed indefinitely due to rising costs. “We’re waiting for the right time,” said Idezawa. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 4/7
