A Japanese technology giant little known outside Asia is racing to capture the booming Chinese Internet market. And in the process, it hopes to become a global player straddling what is fast becoming the world’s most wired region.

The company, Softbank, already trumps Google in Japan, where it has the country’s most popular search engine and e-commerce site. It also runs the fastest-growing mobile phone carrier in Japan and operates its largest broadband network. Softbank is also the sole Japanese carrier for the Apple iPhone; in addition it is the only company providing data service for the iPad, which went on sale Friday to much fanfare. More>>