Rakuten is planning to make English its official language and require all employees to speak English, even when only Japanese speakers are present. The company's president said board members who cannot speak English within two years will be fired. Rakuten is providing English lessons to 200 employees through an exclusive contract with Berlitz Japan Inc., but many more employees applied than could be accommodated. Achieving certain scores on the TOEIC English proficiency test will be required for promotion at Rakuten. The company believes establishing English as the official language is important as it continues to expand globally.

1. How Rakuten is planning to run their entire business in English? S1160222 Junnosuke Yanai

2. * Make English its official language. Rakuten's all meeting will use an English whether foreigners are present or not. President of Rakuten has said that board members who can't speak English in two years will be fired. Cafeteria menus are now in English.

3. *Rate of employees The Rakuten group has 6,000 employees globally, of whom about 400 are non-Japanese. The firm doesn't keep track of how many non-Japanese it has in Japan, while the 16 board members at its headquarters in Tokyo are all Japanese.

4. *Japanese companies and English. Japanese companies looking to expand their overseas sales don't deny the merit of having employees proficient in English, but none has gone as far as to require their Japanese employees to speak English to other Japanese employees.

5. *What' mean about Rakuten's news? The significance of Rakuten's announcement was that Mikitani forced the employees to make the commitment.

6. * Rakuten is able to push English. Rakuten is one of a very small number of Japanese companies able to push English as its official language . Because Rakuten's president is fluent in English and is very charismatic.

7. *Rakuten employees learn English. -part 1 akuten employees are under a lot of pressure to learn English. Rakuten said that 200 employees out of 3,000 working at the headquarters take lessons from Berlitz Japan Inc., a language school chain that has an exclusive contract to send English teachers to Rakuten.

8. *Rakuten employees learn English. - part 2 A lot more people applied for the lessons, but Rakuten had a capacity of only 200 due to space limitations. Adding that other employees are taking English lessons elsewhere. Everybody spends their own money for lessons and is committed to learning English.

9. * What need for International Communication, will be required for promotion? Achieving certain scores in the TOEIC, or the Test of English for International Communication, will be required for promotion, Rakuten said. The range of required TOEIC scores is from 600 to 750 depending on job title, but workers in the lowest two levels don't need TOEIC scores.

10. *At the end. Rakuten think a great deal of use the English. Rakuten make English its official language and Rakuten's employees learn English and be able to push English. It is important for Rakuten to use the English.