1. How Rakuten is planning to run
their entire business in English?
s1170178 Yuya Ito

2. Rakuten's Global Business
● Rakuten's goal is to become the world's
biggest Internet service company, so
Rakuten sets up global business.
● Currently with the rapidly declining
birthrate and aging population, Japan faces
a difficult future in which it is predicted
the market will continue shrinking in the
long term, thus, not apply only to Rakuten,
company directs attention to global market.
● Rakuten is coming to market of U.S.,
France, China and so on continuously.

3. Rakuten's English Strategy
● Rakuten is that English will be the
company's official internal language by
the end of 2012.
● The Rakuten groups has 6,000 employees
in the world, 400 employees of them are
non-Japanese.
● Rakuten's president Hiroshi Mikitani
got an MBA from Havard University, so
he speaks English very well.

4. Rakuten's English Strategy
● If corporate officer cannot master
English during two years time, corporate
officer will be fired.
● Rakuten intends to conduct executive
meetings in English and eventually have
all internal documents in English.
● All menus of company cafeteria are
already available in English.
● Mikitani says that English widely used in
cyberspace and IT.

5. The Other Company's
English Strategy
● Fast Retailing will make English an
official language starting in March
2012, if only Japanese employees, these
employees can use Japanese in email and
meeting.
● In Nidec case determines whether
employees can advance or not by foreign
language skills of employees.

6. Risk to Rakuten's All English
● Between Japanese employees and non-
Japanese employees who speak English
fluently have language barrier.
● Rakuten's importance of English is
lower than companies like Nissan and
Nomura.

7. Risk to Rakuten's All English
● Company cannot supply a high-quality
service because English language skills
of employees are poor.
● There are unique expression in only
native language.
● Between Japanese and English have quite
different structure.
● The language culture in Japan may
disappear.

8. Improvement Plan to
Rakuten's All English
● Japan should reform English education.
– English education in Japan should spend
more time such as starting to educate in
English in primary school.
– English education in Japan should make
strong effort of English speaking skills
because English education in Japan is
almost reading section.
● Above improvement plan may be
minimally-effective.

9. Conclusion
● Rakuten increases internationalization
for becoming the world's biggest Internet
service company.
● Official in-house language of Rakuten
will be English by the end of 2012.
● Above Rakuten's English strategy have
various risks attached.
– Between Japanese and non-Japanese have
language barrier.
– Japanese may be not able to provide high-
quality service.

10. References
● JAPANTODAY, Rakuten's decision on English not
welcomed by everyone,
http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuchikomi/view/ra
kutens-decision-on-english-not-welcomed-by-everyone
● DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE, English as an official
language: Is it necessary?,
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/columns/commentary/T1009
17003018.htm
● Rakuten Careers, Rakuten Business Model,
http://global.rakuten.com/careers/business/
● The Japan Times, Rakuten's all-English edict a bold
move, but risky too,
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20100716f1.html