Mickey’s Voice
Insights from our CEO
-
The diversity dividend
At Rakuten, we consider ourselves marathon runners. We are in our business and our communities for the long haul. That’s one of the reasons we think very seriously about diversity. Diversity at Rakuten is not just important because it is the right thing to do, right now. It is a strategy for our long-term success. Why is diversity so important to our long game? Talent We know that to be succ
Read More » -
My plan for a tech revolution in Tokyo
If I could make a big change right now, I’d start right here in Tokyo. It’s a dream of mine to transform this city into the next tech hub. Working with JANE (Japan Association of New Economy), we’re pursuing a revolution through innovation – a plan to create a hub for tech entrepreneurs in Asia. It would require many changes. Among them: Encourage entrepreneurs and engineers to come and work in To
Read More » -
My economist father turned me into an entrepreneur
After writing a proposal for Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s Industrial Competitiveness Council on growth strategy entitled “Japan Again,” I understood that as a businessperson I knew only so much. So when I decided to write a book on the same subject I knew early on whom I would ask to be my coauthor: my mentor, my father. My dad, an economist and a professor emeritus at Kobe University, had
Read More » -
The drone economy
Look! Up in the sky! It’s our future. And it’s spectacular. Drones are a new technology that have a lot of people talking. Android co-founder Andy Rubin was talking about them here in Japan at NEST 2016. Of course, we are still in the very early stages of applying this technology in the real world, and there is a lot to learn about how drones can be deployed in commercial delivery. But there is no
Read More » -
Why do we climb mountains?
We have talked a lot at Rakuten recently about mountain climbing, especially since I replaced golf with a climb up Mt. Tanigawa in the Japanese Alps for our annual executive management camp. So, I want to take a moment to talk about mountains because I think they can play an important role in our lives. Typically, people think of the mountain summit as the goal and the act of climbing as the proce
Read More » -
A funny thing about Rakuten: Behind-the-scenes at work
Every spring when we welcome new graduates, or after we’ve acquired a company, I hear comments about this funny thing I do every Tuesday. I hear even more about it when new employees, who I like to call Rakutenians, learn that they too must do this funny thing. What is this funny thing? I clean my desk! I’ve written about this before. I always receive questions in the comments about this task. Som
Read More » -
Watching Science Fiction Become Science Fact
Discovering more about what the future might hold was what got together global leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators earlier this month at the New Economy Summit Tokyo. I was excited to join the event, also known as NEST, along with 3000 people also keen on doing just that. Hosted by the Japan Association of New Economy that I helped found in 2010, this year’s annual global meeting sparked lively
Read More » -
Questioning the status quo: Japan innovation
In 2010, a group of e-business executives looking to drive meaningful change in Japan formed a professional association. Our original goal was to advocate for issues relevant to our emerging tech-related industry. But by 2012 we realized there was far more at stake than just e-commerce. We changed our name and broadened our goal: we became JANE, the Japan Association of New Economy. What are JANE’
Read More » -
Hiroshi Mikitani on Global Expansion
Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani on global expansion and how Viber and Ebates fit into the future of the Rakuten ecosystem. From his appearance onstage in New York at Business Insider IGNITION 2015.
Read More » -
The Priceless Value of Quality
In 2016, Rakuten will enter our 20th year. We’ve come a long way since we started with a team of six and 13 merchants and that makes it even more important to focus on what makes our marketplace unique. We have developed into Japan’s leading online shopping mall and we are a highly trusted platform with high quality service because of our ability to collaborate closely with the merchants on
Read More »
