Rakuten announced that it will make English its official language by 2012. The company president, Hiroshi Mikitani, insists that English is essential for all employees. Rakuten uses strategies like English lessons for 200 employees through Berlitz and requiring board members to achieve an English proficiency level within two years or face firing. The goal of adopting English is to make Rakuten more globally competitive and encourage employee loyalty to the company's top-down decisions.

1. s1170219 Keiko Igarashi

2. I. The Announcing of Rakuten.
II. The Strategies that Rakuten.
III. Why Rakuten is doing?
IV. Summary

3.  The Rakuten is internet shopping mall
operator Inc.
 The Rakuten proclaim that early this year it
will make English its official language by
2012.
“Eigo hanashimasuu”.
Hiroshi Mikitani who
president of Rakuten Inc.

4.  All meetings will be in English whether
foreigners are present or not.
 The board members who can‟t speak English
will be fired, if can‟t speak English after two
years.
 Cafeteria menus are now in English, because
employee get used to it.

5.  The Strategies that to learn employee English
in Rakuten is following.
• 200 employees out of 3,000 working at the
headquarters take lessons from Berlitz Japan Inc.
• Rakuten is not providing financial support for
lesson, but Berlitz offers a discount.
• Rakuten is give out that the board members who
can‟t speak English will be fired, if can‟t speak
English after two years.

6.  Mikitani insists English is a must for all the
employees.
 He said, English is like „soroban‟(abacus,
meaning math) in „yomi kaki
soroban‟(reading, writing and arithmetic.).
 And, TOEIC scores set up depending on job
title in Rakuten.

7.  There are presiden Mikitani in Rakuten who
has an MBA from Harvard, is fluent in English
and is very charismatic.
 Rakuten has a culture of uniting under
Mikitani‟s top-down decisions.
 This is that employee build loyal for company.

8.  Rakuten employees said “If it‟s a company
order, I will do it.”.
 This comments means that employee build
loyal for company.
 So, each and every employees has highly-
motivation which to learn English.

9.  The Rakuten set up TOEIC scores depending
on job title.
 TOEIC scores is from 600 to 750.
 Achieving certain scores in the TOEIC, or the
Test of English for International
Communication.

10.  The Rakuten proclaim that early this year it
will make English its official language by
2012.
 Rakuten has a culture of uniting under
Mikitani‟s top-down decisions.
 TOEIC scores set up depending on job title in
Rakuten.
◦ TOEIC scores is from 600 to 750.