Line app operator announces buyback, SoftBank, Naver voting rights to fall

SoftBank Corp's logo is pictured at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, February 4, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's LY Corp, operator of the Line messaging app, announced a share buyback on Friday that will lower the voting rights of heavyweight joint stakeholders SoftBank Corp and South Korea's Naver.

The capital relationship of the three Asian tech giants has developed into a political debate in South Korea and Japan this year.