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July 19, 2025
 

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RAKUTEN

Rakuten Group's stock dropped after the Japanese e-commerce firm reported a 19th straight quarterly loss, fueling concerns about the financial drag from its ailing mobile business.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2025
Rakuten Group shares sink on worse-than-expected quarterly loss
The stock plunged as much as 10% in Tokyo on Thursday, its biggest intraday drop since April 7.
One 36-year-old man, a company employee who had used Rakuten Securities for over a decade, lost about ¥2.1 million ($14,700) in the scheme.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2025
Japanese online brokerage accounts hacked in growing scandal
Rakuten Securities has disclosed a series of account takeovers, with Nomura Securities, SBI Securities and other firms also confirming similar incidents.
Learning the ropes of Japan’s online marketplaces can yield hidden treasures and also help you freshen up your home or closet from time to time.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 31, 2025
How to navigate Japan’s e-commerce platforms and online flea markets
Looking to refresh your wardrobe or home with the arrival of spring? Check out our tips for how to make the most of Japan’s online marketplaces.
The computers and smartphones seized by the Metropolitan Police Department on Thursday in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 28, 2025
Three teens arrested over fraudulent subscriptions to Rakuten Mobile
Police believe the suspects obtained at least about 2,500 subscriptions and sold them for a total of about ¥7.5 million in crypto assets.
Rakuten Group said it no longer plans to list its securities arm on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and will instead focus on deepening its partnership with Mizuho Securities.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 30, 2025
Rakuten scraps plan to list securities unit on Tokyo bourse
The Japanese e-commerce pioneer had planned an initial public offering for Rakuten Securities Holdings as part of a push to shore up finances.
Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani says the company sees an opportunity in Japan, which has been a laggard in the adoption of digital and artificial intelligence-powered technologies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2025
Rakuten founder defends costly mobile foray with big AI bet
Rakuten Mobile and its 8 million-plus users help train an AI poised to expand the conglomerate’s business, according to billionaire founder Hiroshi Mikitani.
Rakuten Group CEO Hiroshi Mikitani speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2025
Rakuten’s Mikitani wants to sell bonds to Japanese investors
Market pricing indicates that views on Rakuten are improving after years of losses and a stretched balance sheet.
Rakuten Group is targeting the sale of as much as $550 million of subordinated notes with price talk for the deal at around 8.375%.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 4, 2024
Rakuten targets its lowest-cost junk bond sale since 2021
The e-commerce giant is targeting the sale of as much as $550 million of subordinated notes that can be called after five years.
Rakuten Group is considering the sale of hybrid perpetual notes that can be called after five years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2024
Rakuten plans return to dollar bond market with hybrid notes
Rakuten’s liquidity has improved but an increased reliance on the dollar bond market may indicate weakened domestic funding access.
Rakuten's sale of 15% stake in its credit card arm to Mizuho Financial Group would give the e-commerce pioneer a one-time gain of ¥159.4 billion in the current quarter.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 14, 2024
Rakuten sells Mizuho 15% of credit card arm for ¥165 billion
The sale would give the e-commerce pioneer a one-time gain of ¥159.4 billion in the current quarter, Rakuten said in a statement Wednesday.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Japan should develop its own generative AI.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2024
Nvidia to support development of AI based on Japanese language data
The move is seen helping local efforts to protect critical infrastructure and strengthen industrial competitiveness without relying on other countries.
The new V Point program offers a feature allowing members to earn double reward points when making payments with credit cards.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Aug 26, 2024
New V Point spurs corporate economic bloc race in Japan
Competition among corporate groups in Japan is intensifying further as they strive to expand their economic influence through shared reward points.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2024
Toyota chairman and 12 other Japanese executives banned from entering Russia
Others include Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani and Japan International Cooperation Agency President Akihiko Tanaka.
Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said that the mobile company now has more than 7 million subscribers, and is seeking to hit 10 million subscribers next.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2024
Money-losing Rakuten Mobile rolls out new 700 MHz service
The new offering, which is being introduced incrementally, will improve connectivity, including in densely populated areas, it says.
Rakuten is working with eBay to market Japan's used fashion and accessories in the United States, taking advantage of the weak yen.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024
Rakuten and eBay team up to test U.S. market for used Japanese fashion goods
The tie-up aims to capitalize on the currency effect and is also a move toward bargain hunting as cost-of-living pressures around the world crimp spending.
Rakuten logged its fifteenth consecutive quarter in the red due to losses at its mobile service network unit.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2024
Rakuten logs 15th quarter of losses on mobile woes despite record financial unit profit
While its number of mobile subscribers rose to 6.48 million at the end of March, average revenue per user increased only fractionally.
Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2024
Rakuten considers combining financial units
A proposed IPO of its securities unit may not proceed if the integration is realized, while the banking arm is expected to remain listed.
Rakuten Group's Rakuten Point is the most frequently used reward point service, according to a survey.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Mar 25, 2024
Race to expand corporate economic blocs heats up in Japan
Corporate groups are enticing customers with a variety of services, often bolstered by reward points, primarily geared toward shopping purposes.
The exact timing of the roll out of Rakuten Mobile's commercial satellite-to-mobile service is uncertain, but the plans for coverage encompass mountainous and remote areas across Japan.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 16, 2024
Rakuten plans satellite mobile service across Japan in 2026
The service, to be rolled out in partnership with AST SpaceMobile, will be directly accessible by regular smartphones and won’t require a terminal.
Rakuten Group has incurred a net loss for the fifth straight year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2024
Rakuten logs second-largest annual net loss
The firm will skip a dividend payment for the first time in 23 years to prioritize its financial stability.
Living conditions index hits lowest level in 15 years in Japan
The share of respondents to a Bank of Japan quarterly survey in June who said they have become worse off came to 61.0%, up 5.1 percentage points from the previous survey.
Tokyo emerges as a top market for global tech talent
Tokyo ranks among the world's top tech talent hubs alongside Beijing, the San Francisco Bay Area, Bengaluru, Paris, New York and Dublin, according to Colliers' newly released global tech markets report.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
CDP leader criticizes ‘Japanese First’ policy and calls for inclusive society
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda said it is obvious that Japanese society could not function without the help of foreign workers in manufacturing, health care, construction and public transportation.
JSA’s 100th anniversary event is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for sumo fans
Egyptian wrestler Osunaarashi has some fun with children during a special Japan Sumo Association event in 2017.
Japan's rice farmers are confounded by Shinjiro Koizumi’s policies
Kiyoshi Shibata stands in front of one of the rice paddies in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, where he produces the prefecture's signature rice brand Tsuyahime.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Kawaii Lab redefines idol pop for the TikTok generation
Misa Kimura is the main producer for Kawaii Lab, a project by entertainment agency Asobisystem whose groups have found success by pairing a social media-first strategy with a fresh perspective on traditional idol-pop tropes.
Craig Mod's life in motion in a disappearing Japan
Mod's memoir “Things Become Other Things” chronicles his walking trips across the Kii Peninsula, surveying “a graceful end to a certain life cycle.”
With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ‘new era of crisis’
A senior member of a Self-Defense Forces honor guard inspects a formation before the arrival of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a visit to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on June 30.

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