Leading the New Japan - Anonymous employee Rakuten Employee Review

4.0
7 May 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

In founder and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani, Rakuten is led by one of Japan's true visionaries and one of the few in Japan leaders in Japan willing to stick their neck out to get things done. The company believes in empowering its merchants and customers through e-commerce, rather than taking advantage of them. Rakuten moves quickly, takes chances, and aims to be the world's No.1 internet services company. Ambition is not a quality that Rakuten lacks.

Cons

On a day-to-day level, Rakuten can be bureaucratic and extremely focused on numbers at the expense of the big picture. That said, CEO Mikitani has a firm grasp of the big picture issues and is not afraid to make decisions above the numbers.

Explore other reviews about Rakuten

5.0
25 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Rakuten Rewards has great life balance. Too bad the economy was getting rocked.

Cons

Don't really have any cons. I understand that the market's been hard so had to downsize the force, so that was kinda challenging. Hopefully AI will increase everyone's output.

3.0
28 Jan 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The company offers great benefits and perks, and the overall work culture can be fun and social. When I first joined, it felt like a positive place to work and a good environment to learn. It’s a solid company to start your career, especially if you’re early on and want exposure to the role.

Cons

While the experience started off strong, there was very little room for growth long term. Opportunities were not distributed equally across the team, and favoritism was noticeable at times. The same individuals were consistently praised for simply doing their jobs, while others’ contributions were rarely acknowledged. The team culture could feel very cliquey, and if you weren’t part of the “favorites,” it was difficult to be recognized or considered for new opportunities. Although leadership often spoke about internal growth and mobility, in reality those opportunities felt extremely limited. Once you’re placed on a team, it’s very hard to move into something new or grow beyond that role. This is a good place to start your career and gain experience, but not a place I would recommend staying long term. If you’re looking for growth, development, and mobility within the company, you may find yourself feeling stuck.

3
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