The exact same thing is happening to me too. The obvious workaround I've found is to remove the offending fonts-noto- cjk package.
** Changed in: skype (Ubuntu) Status: Invalid => New -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Canonical Partner Developers, which is subscribed to skype in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1546941 Title: [xenial] skype does not start, hangs at reading NotoSansCJK.ttc To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/skype/+bug/1546941/+subscriptions _______________________________________________ Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~canonical-partner-dev Post to : canonical-partner-dev@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~canonical-partner-dev More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp