The over the top blast - reported by the Japan Daily Press - is apparently a regular feature of Mr Son's public utterances. The catalyst was the assigning of a chunk of 2.5GHz spectrum to a subsidiary of Softbank rival, KDDI, by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Mr Son had also applied for the spectrum and was utterly outraged when it was assigned to KDDI on the grounds that the rival telco had better spectrum utilisation plans than did Softbank. This assertion was way too much for Mr Son who, according to The Japan Daily Press, got himself into a 50 minute slanging match with Ministry Officials during the course of which he told them: “The process is ridiculous and very unfair... I’m fully prepared to die if necessary to say this.”

Son wants access to the records that lay out the thinking behind the decision so that he can take "the issue to court and file an administrative lawsuit if the ministry still insists on not disclosing these records," says the newspaper.

Under what circumstances Mr Son's actual death is likely to further his cause is unclear, but perhaps his US competitors and the FCC should be aware that the new boy on the block is unlikely to avoid a fight.