Rakuten

E-Commerce MarketplacesFounded 1997

Market Data Current As Of: September 12, 2026

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Rakuten

E-Commerce MarketplacesFounded 1997

Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya

Last reviewed: September 12, 2026

Market Data Current As Of: September 12, 2026

Founders

Who Founded Rakuten?

Hiroshi Mikitani · Founded 1997 · Tokyo, Japan

Quick Answer

Rakuten was founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997 in Tokyo, Japan. The company is currently led by Hiroshi Mikitani.

Founding Story

In 1997, 32-year-old Hiroshi 'Mickey' Mikitani, an industrial bank executive who earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, left his banking career after the devastating 1995 Kobe earthquake claimed the lives of several close friends, deciding he had to take risks to revitalize the stagnant Japanese economy. Mikitani observed that Japanese mom-and-pop merchants across regional prefectures were struggling against big-city retail chains. He founded **MDM, Inc.** (renamed Rakuten, from the Japanese word meaning 'optimism') in February 1997 with just five employees and ¥13 million in savings. Launching **Rakuten Ichiba** on May 1, 1997, with only 13 merchant storefronts, Mikitani let shop owners design their own web pages and communicate directly with customers, igniting Japan's digital commerce revolution.

Hiroshi Mikitani

Background

Hiroshi 'Mickey' Mikitani earned a Bachelor's in Commerce from Hitotsubashi University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, working at the Industrial Bank of Japan before founding Rakuten.

Role at Rakuten

Hiroshi Mikitani is the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Rakuten Group, Inc. In 1997, Mikitani founded Rakuten Ichiba to revitalize Japan's regional retail economy. Mikitani pioneered the Rakuten Ecosystem, led the 2010 'Englishnization' corporate language mandate, built Rakuten Card and Bank into financial titans, and revolutionized 5G with Open RAN.

Rakuten: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Kenji Hirose

Chief Financial Officer

2020 – Present

Oversees global capital allocation, debt management, and fintech public offerings (Rakuten Bank IPO).

Tareq Amin

Founding Architect of Rakuten Mobile & Symphony

2018 – Present

Telecom visionary who designed and executed the world's first software-defined Open RAN cloud network.

Hiroshi Mikitani

Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

1997 – Present

Visionary founder who built Rakuten from a 13-merchant site into a $14.5B conglomerate, pioneered the point ecosystem, mandated English, and built the Open RAN mobile network.

Compare Rakuten With Competitors

Rakuten vs Amazon.com, Inc. →Rakuten vs JD.com →Rakuten vs Alibaba Group Holding Limited →Rakuten vs Flipkart →Rakuten vs JioMart →

Who Founded Rakuten? FAQ

Who founded Rakuten and in what year was it established?

Rakuten was founded in 1997 by Hiroshi Mikitani in Tokyo, Japan.

What was the original founding vision for Rakuten?

The founders established Rakuten with the objective of solving core inefficiencies in E-Commerce Marketplaces, FinTech & Digital Banking, Mobile Telecommunications (Open RAN), Digital Media & Global Ecosystem Platforms, laying the foundation for its current global scale.

How does Rakuten preserve its founding principles today?