To avoid any sense of false hype-building, we’ll admit right now: Softbank has already denied any involvement.  But rumor has it that Yahoo is in discussions to sell its stake in Yahoo Japan to Softbank, and a whole lot of people are hoping that’s the case.

Yahoo Japan is, if you’ll recall, not exactly the Yahoo most Americans know.  Yahoo only owns 33 percent of the organization, while Softbank controls a 42 percent stake.  And Yahoo Japan’s also on a different path in other respects, considering it’s arranged to make use of Google’s search tech.

A company with “soft” in its name might be tempting fate – poor financial performances would be all too appropriate.  Softbank isn’t having that problem, though, and instead, the Japanese telecommunications giant saw its net profits rise by 221 percent over a certain period.

In many technological aspects, Japan’s got America beat.  Hands-down, where-is-my-robot-butler beat.  Which makes me wonder about the implications of Yahoo’s continued success in that country.

KickApps was already doing quite well, and the company has now received $11 million in fresh funding.  According to various reports and statements, the money will go towards making KickApps faster, bigger, and generally better than ever.

The investment concern Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund has closed its Silicon Valley offices.