Rakuten users skew enthusiastic

One striking divide emerged not in age or gender, but in familiarity with the Rakuten Ecosystem. The survey grouped respondents by whether they actively used Rakuten services, were merely aware of them, or were completely unfamiliar.

Among those engaged with the Rakuten Ecosystem, 62.5% said they were not averse to AI, compared with just 43.6% of those unfamiliar with Rakuten. Half of regular Rakuten users reported having already used some form of AI, while fewer than 20% of non-users responded the same.

The gap widened even further for advanced use cases. Nearly 30% of Rakuten users indicated they would let AI agents handle entire transactions, compared to only 8.6% of non-users. A similar divide appeared around personal data use, with 37.4% of Rakuten users comfortable with AI leveraging personal information versus 10.3% of non-users.

Tellingly, among those not engaged with Rakuten, the most common reason given for disliking AI was “no particular reason,” suggesting less of an active aversion than a lack of engagement.

Fitting AI into shopping and travel

When asked about online shopping, respondents highlighted several frustrations that AI could potentially help solve: unreliable reviews, difficulty comparing products, and uncertainty over fit or suitability. Many hope for AI that can compare prices across sites, track price drops, and help find items using vague or natural language queries.

These are precisely the pain points Rakuten Ichiba is targeting with the recent launch of its AI concierge. Shoppers can now describe their budgets, preferences and usage scenarios through text, voice and images to get the most relevant possible suggestions from Rakuten Ichiba’s approximately 500 million items.

Travel planning, meanwhile, presents its own challenges. Many respondents expressed that they felt overwhelmed by information, struggling to compare options, assemble complete itineraries, and identify the best timing. AI could help predict prices and crowds, suggest destinations based on preferences, and build end-to-end travel plans.

In September 2025, Rakuten Travel launched its AI Travel Search, a free AI agent that leverages data from the platform’s reviews, trend insights, and diverse hotel plans to provide tailored recommendations. Understanding natural language, the agent provides a user-friendly display, allowing travelers to easily compare multiple relevant options that suit their destination, length of stay, budget, and many other preferences.

https://rakuten.today/blog/japanese-consumers-embracing-ai-survey.html

 

Commerce & Marketing Company Enhances UX with AI and Data Integration

February 25, 2026

The Commerce & Marketing Company is integrating AI agents into its services such as Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Travel, and Rakuten Beauty. By leveraging shared knowhow, development periods are continuously shortening. Furthermore, the Rakuten Ichiba AI agent, fully launched in December 2025, proposes products to users across services by integrating data from multiple platforms, including Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Fashion, Rakuten Rakuma, and Rakuten Books. This has generated profits, with users' average order value increasing by approximately 26%.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paViql3Wc9s
 

Yomiuri: Rakuten Group to Resume Talks Toward Reorganizing Fintech Businesses

Last Updated: Feb. 26, 2026 at 1:53 a.m. ET

By Hikaru Sunaga / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Rakuten Group Inc. announced Wednesday that it will resume discussions toward the reorganization of the group's fintech businesses. It is considering integrating its online securities, credit card and smartphone payment businesses, centered around its listed subsidiary Rakuten Bank Ltd., by around October this year.

Rakuten Group intends to improve profitability by strengthening collaboration among its financial businesses and advancing cost reduction efforts.

Rakuten Securities Holdings Inc. and Rakuten Card Co. would become the subsidiaries of Rakuten Bank, establishing a structure for integrated management. Rakuten Bank is expected to remain listed.
As rising interest rates have increased funding costs, the group aims to curb these costs by enhancing the availability of Rakuten Bank. Collaboration would also be promoted in the utilization of AI.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/...zing-fintech-businesses-ee3b36d2
 

The Power of the Ecosystem: Rakuten Symphony's Proven Model for Telecom Growth Beyond Connectivity

February 24, 2026

The telecommunications landscape is evolving rapidly. As connectivity becomes increasingly ubiquitous, operators face the challenge of moving beyond commoditized services to find new avenues for sustainable growth and deeper customer engagement. This is precisely the vision Rakuten Symphony is championing, offering a proven ecosystem model to transform how telecom operators do business.

Imagine a world where your mobile subscribers don't just use your network, but actively participate in a rich ecosystem of services, leading to higher loyalty, increased spending, and a lifetime of value. This isn't a futuristic dream; it's a reality Rakuten Mobile has already demonstrated, and Rakuten Symphony is now making this blueprint available to operators worldwide.

The New Blueprint for Telecom's Success and Loyalty

Rakuten Group has spent nearly three decades building a robust ecosystem of services with membership at the core. Today, that ecosystem spans commerce, fintech, content, and communications, all built around a powerful loyalty program. In Japan, this ecosystem serves over 100 million members, connecting them to more than 70 interconnected services. This isn't just about offering more products; it's about creating a synergistic relationship where connectivity becomes an accelerator for participation, loyalty, and ultimately, greater customer lifetime value.

Consider these compelling figures from Rakuten Mobile:

Subscribers participate in an average of 2.45 more services than non-members.

Ecosystem services account for nearly half of Rakuten Mobile’s total ARPU, in addition to core telecom revenue.

Rakuten Mobile generates approximately 50% additional revenue from non-connectivity services, with engagement and lifetime value increasing as subscriber tenure grows.

As Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group, aptly puts it, "This is a business model transformation, not just a technology shift... Rakuten has shown that when you build a true ecosystem around membership, you create value far beyond transactions."

"This is a business model transformation, not just a technology shift... Rakuten has shown that when you build a true ecosystem around membership, you create value far beyond transactions." – Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group

From Connectivity Provider to Ecosystem Enabler

Rakuten Symphony is empowering operators to make this transformation without replicating Rakuten Group's multi-decade journey. They are providing production-ready platforms and commercial blueprints that turn networks into engines of long-term growth.

Examples of these powerful, production-ready platforms include:

Point System Platform: A robust platform for building and managing loyalty programs.

Rakuten Cartera: For white-labeled affiliate marketing, opening up new revenue streams.

Rakuten Viber: A super app for communication, fostering deeper engagement.

Rakuten TV: For multimedia entertainment, enhancing customer stickiness.

Sharad Sriwastawa, President of Rakuten Symphony, emphasizes, "Rakuten Symphony is making this ecosystem-driven business model accessible to telecom operators worldwide... We’re offering a proven business practice from one of the world’s leading digital ecosystems."

By adopting this model, operators can unlock new revenue streams, increase engagement frequency, reduce customer acquisition costs, and significantly extend customer lifetime value. It's about moving beyond being a utility provider and becoming a central part of your customers' digital lives.
"Rakuten Symphony is making this ecosystem-driven business model accessible to telecom operators worldwide... We’re offering a proven business practice from one of the world’s leading digital ecosystems." – Sharad Sriwastawa, President of Rakuten Symphony

https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...lecom-growth-beyond-connectivity

 

Radisys and Rakuten Mobile Partner to Drive Digital Services with a Platform-Centric Approach

DALLAS, Texas, U.S. – February 26, 2026 – Radisys Corporation, a global leader of open telecom solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with Rakuten Mobile,  a global pioneer in cloud-native Open RAN mobile networks, to enable the delivery of new, AI-enhanced digital services using Radisys’ Engage Digital Platform (EDP). This collaboration underscores a transformative shift in how service providers can monetize their network investments through a unified, programmable communications platform approach for offering new-age media applications powered by Gen-AI.

As service providers seek to accelerate monetization of the high-performance networks, the ability to create and offer in-network, device-independent, AI-based, immersive applications with superior capabilities, performance and security is a clear differentiator over typical single capability OTT services. Rakuten Mobile has adopted a platform-first strategy, embedding Radisys’ EDP directly into its core network infrastructure. Rather than deploying a separate product or application for each new service, Rakuten Mobile is using EDP to enable rapid service creation and rollout from a single integrated platform, accelerating time to market, at a lower cost, leveraging their industry-leading cloud native network infrastructure.

“Rakuten Mobile has deployed a nationwide network offering the most immersive user experience using AI-powered communication solutions,” said Puneet Handa, Executive Officer and Head of Strategy and Products at Rakuten Mobile. “Radisys’ Engage Digital Platform allows for rapid development and deployment of new and innovative services to our customers without the need for repeated integrations.”

“Rakuten Mobile is a proven innovator, leading with a fully cloud-native architecture from the outset,” said Arun Bhikshesvaran, CEO of Radisys. “We are proud to be enabling the next phase of Rakuten Mobile’s journey through our Engage Digital Platform, which allows them to launch new communication and customer engagement services quickly and monetize their networks without complex integrations or product silos.”

With Engage Digital Platform’s ‘build once, launch many’ model:

New services are created and deployed on the same platform, eliminating the need for repeated integration work.

Return on investment improves, as one-time platform deployment supports an expanding set of use cases over time.

Service agility increases, allowing Rakuten Mobile to stay ahead of market demands and deliver differentiated experiences directly to its customers.

This approach stands in contrast to competing solutions that are often siloed—each tied to a single service or use case, requiring new investments and integration efforts for every expansion.
By adopting a platform-driven model, service providers can accelerate the development and delivery of next-generation digital services. Radisys’ EDP enables the deployment of advanced offerings, including private 5G networks, network slicing, edge-based applications, and network API exposure, while leveraging existing infrastructure and unlocking new monetization models.

About Radisys
Radisys is a global leader in open telecom solutions and services. Its disaggregated platforms and integration services leverage open reference architectures and standards combined with open software and hardware, enabling service providers to drive open digital transformation. Radisys offers an end-to-end solutions portfolio from digital endpoints to disaggregated and open access and core solutions to immersive digital applications and engagement platforms. Its world-class and experienced network services organization delivers full lifecycle services to help service providers build and operate highly scalable and high-performance networks at optimum total cost of ownership. For more information, visit www.Radisys.com.

https://hub.radisys.com/press-release/...-platform-centric-approach-2
 

February 23, 2026

Malta-based Med Media Services has announced the launch of its FAST channel MED.TV on Rakuten TV. With this new distribution agreement, MED.TV is now available in 43 European territories, reaching a potential audience of more than 150 million households.  

Launched in 2025, MED.TV showcases the Mediterranean through a premium mix of original and curated content spanning documentaries, travel and culinary series, feature films, classical concerts and opera, as well as coverage and highlights from business events and Mediterranean-focused current affairs programmes.

https://www.advanced-television.com/2026/02/23/...nnel-on-rakuten-tv/
 

Daiso Sangyo decides to introduce "Rakuten Pay Salary"

February 27, 2026

Daiso Sangyo, Rakuten Payment and Rakuten Edy are the two companies that develop "DAISO", "Standard Products", and "THREEPPY". We are pleased to announce that we have agreed to introduce "Rakuten Pay Salary" on Friday, February 27, 2026. The three companies aim to start using the service in May 2026 and prepare for the introduction.

This initiative is made possible through the collaboration between Daiso Sangyo, Rakuten Payment, and Rakuten Edy, and will support Daiso Sangyo's DX promotion and the improvement of employees' DX mindset. Daiso Sangyo will improve convenience by utilizing the Rakuten Economic Zone, which provides a variety of services such as Rakuten Pay, Rakuten Point Card, and Rakuten Ichiba, and will contribute to the promotion of digitalization of society as a whole.

Under the corporate motto of "Changing the lives of people around the world at one price ~Impressive price, impressive quality~", Daiso Sangyo has developed "DAISO", "Standard Products", and "THREEPPY" with the aim of becoming a global retail business originating from Japan, and handles approximately 53,000 products ranging from daily necessities to hobbies and luxury items.

https://payment.rakuten.co.jp/news/2026022700/
 

Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile, which recently announced it had reached 10 million connections, recorded full year 2025 revenues of 374.7bn yen (Dollar 2.45bn), up by 32% year on year, driven by expanding subscriber numbers and higher ARPU , its parent company Rakuten Group announced in this earnings highlights release. As a result, Rakuten Mobile managed its first full year of positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), at 12.9bn yen (Dollar 84m). Rakuten Group also announced that Rakuten Symphony, which is Rakutens telecom and cloud sector vendor and systems integration arm and which now has 74 customer relationships, achieved full year non-GAAP operating profit for the first time since founding, and recorded full year revenues of Dollar 571.3m.  

KI-gestützte Nachrichtenverbesserung: Ende Februar/Anfang März 2026 hat Viber ein KI-gestütztes Feature eingeführt, das auf OpenAI-Modellen basiert. Nutzer können damit direkt im Eingabefeld Texte korrigieren, den Tonfall anpassen oder Übersetzungen durchführen. Die Nachrichten werden nach der Verarbeitung nicht zum Training der KI verwendet.  

Rakuten Mobile to deploy 3,000 open mMIMO radios in Japan

February 27, 2026

3,000 radios in first phase – Rakuten Mobile is installing around 3,000 32T32R massive MIMO O-RAN radios as part of a broader rollout strategy.

7% throughput gain expected – The operator anticipates roughly 7% higher throughput in high-traffic areas due to wider coverage and higher gain antennas.

Smooth O-RAN integration – The 1Finity MIMO radios integrated without major challenges, with configurations largely aligned to O-RAN specifications.

Japanese carrier Rakuten Mobile plans to deploy around 3,000 32T32R massive MIMO O-RAN radios as part of the first phase of a broader rollout, the operator confirmed in an interview with RCR Wireless News.

Earlier this month, Rakuten Mobile and 1Finity, a Fujitsu company, had announced a collaboration to deploy 1Finity’s massive MIMO O-RAN radios across Rakuten Mobile’s nationwide 5G network in Japan.

https://www.rcrwireless.com/20260227/5g/rakuten-radios-japan
 

Rakuten Bank holds a free gift campaign for Rakuten Mobile line data SIM for 1 year if the conditions are met

March 2, 2026

Rakuten Bank Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO: Tomotaka Higashibayashi, hereinafter referred to as "Rakuten Bank") has been running a new life support campaign for spring since March 1, 2026.

In this campaign, 30,000 people will be selected by lottery to receive a Rakuten Mobile Line Data SIM for customers who use their Rakuten Bank account as a debit account for credit card bills, mobile phone bills, utility bills, etc. (account transfer), or receive new salaries and bonuses, and meet the prescribed conditions. Customers who are about to open a new account are also eligible.

https://www.rakuten-bank.co.jp/press/2026/260302.html

 

2.03.2026

Drei FAST-Channels von Rakuten TV sind ab sofort auch im Live-TV-Bereich von Prime Video in Deutschland verfügbar, das hat Rakuten TV am Montag auf dem Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona bekanntgegeben. Hintergrund ist eine strategische Kooperation mit Prime Video, die man jetzt eingegangen ist. In den kommenden Wochen starten darüber hinaus weitere Kanäle in Italien und Spanien, zusätzliche Kanäle und neue Märkte sollen folgen und die Kooperation schrittweise ausgebaut werden.

Im Rahmen der nun geschlossenen Kooperation kann die B2B Geschäftssparte von Rakuten TV, Rakuten TV Enterprise, auch FAST-Kanäle von Drittanbietern in Prime Video einbinden. Sidharth Jayant, Chief Product Officer bei Rakuten TV, sagt: "Unsere strategische Kooperation mit Prime Video stellt einen bedeutenden Schritt dar, um die Reichweite unserer Kanäle zu vergrößern und die Umsatzmöglichkeiten für unsere Rechteinhaber-Partner zu maximieren.

https://www.dwdl.de/nachrichten/105668/...astchannels_zu_prime_video/
 

AST SpaceMobile Extends Reach With Defense Deal And Orange Partnership

Mon, March 2, 2026

AST SpaceMobile (NasdaqGS:ASTS) has secured a defense contract with the U.S. Space Development Agency under the Europa Track 2 program.

The company has also partnered with Orange to pursue direct to cell satellite connectivity services in Europe.

AST SpaceMobile focuses on building a space based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones directly to satellites. For you as an investor, these new agreements touch two important areas: government communications and European mobile connectivity, both closely watched parts of the satellite telecom sector.

The defense contract and the Orange partnership widen the range of potential use cases for AST SpaceMobile’s technology across both public and commercial markets. As these projects progress, investors will likely pay attention to how the company executes technically and operationally, and how these relationships may influence its future revenue mix and capital needs.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...xtends-reach-defense-141303642.html
 

Rakuten CEO urges mobile operators to unlock gold mine of Google-level data trove

Mickey Mikitani details how customer engagement data, coupled with a fully virtualized open RAN network, can drive new revenue streams

Mobile operators “have more data than Google” and are “sitting on a gold mine” they barely exploit, Rakuten founder and CEO Mickey Mikitani told attendees at this week's Mobile World Congress 2026 event.

During a keynote on the opening day of the conference, Mikitani argued that subscriber data and engagement – and not spectrum alone – can help operators fill the need for new means of revenue generation, with Rakuten taking full advantage to not only maximize revenues but also bring down the total cost of operations.

As a proof point, the CEO pointed to Rakuten’s own ecosystem, contending that when users sign up to Rakuten Mobile, they go on to use 2.43-times more services than before, spending around 50% more on its marketplace, booking 20% more travel, and using its credit card about 30% more.

“It’s huge, but you have to think about how you can connect it,” Mikitani said, with his team at Rakuten creating its Link rich communication service (RCS) application to drive that user interaction based on personalized user data.

The result? Some 45.6 million monthly active users, with 10 million of those becoming mobile subscribers.

“We have 17-plus services in Japan, based on this, we have more than three trillion data points per year. And we can guess, analyze it, and learn about the behavior of the consumers," Mikitani explained.

https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/...d-mine-of-google-level-data-trove/

 

Rakuten Symphony Completes Interoperability Tests with Samsung’s vRAN and vCore on Rakuten Cloud

Tue, March 3, 2026

Delivers faster time to market with minimal integration effort and reduced deployment risk.

Unlocks increased choice for operators worldwide considering to adopt Samsung’s vRAN and vCore on Rakuten Cloud.

Accelerates the evolution of operators Horizontal Cloud transformation, via high-performance, carrier-grade, multi-vendor cloud platform for open networks.

TOKYO, March 03, 2026  Rakuten Symphony, Inc. today announced the successful interoperability testing of Samsung’s cloud-native virtualized RAN (vRAN) and virtualized Core (vCore) running on the Rakuten Cloud-Native Platform. The validation shows that Samsung’s vRAN and vCore software stacks operate seamlessly on the Rakuten Cloud-Native Platform with near-perfect interoperability results, achieved with zero code changes on either side.

The collaboration demonstrates that operators can deploy best-in-class, multi-vendor cloud-native network functions quickly and confidently, without lengthy integration cycles or custom engineering. This milestone expands choice for telecom service providers worldwide, enabling them to combine Samsung’s proven vRAN and vCore solutions with Rakuten Cloud’s industry-leading cloud-native platform to build flexible, scalable and future-ready networks.

By successfully integrating Samsung’s vRAN and vCore on Rakuten Cloud, Rakuten Symphony can provide operators with a proven, carrier-grade foundation for deploying cloud-native RAN and Core functions while reducing deployment risk and shortening the path to commercial rollout. It also reinforces Rakuten Cloud’s role as a horizontal telco cloud platform supporting a growing ecosystem of partners and network applications.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...teroperability-tests-060000729.html
 

Google Cloud plans to include Rakuten's Cloud-Native Storage as a standard component in its storage portfolio.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...oud-ai-buildout-puts-140716317.html
 

Nokia’s IMS and SDM Cloud-Native Core Powering Rakuten Mobile 4G and 5G Core, Now Live on Rakuten Cloud

- Proven in live operations: Nokia cloud-native 4G and 5G IMS and SDM Core are running in production at Rakuten Mobile on Rakuten Cloud
- Cloud-native transformation: Nokia migrates 4G virtual network functions (VNF) to cloud-native functions for automation, scale and agility

Mobile World Congress Barcelona & Tokyo, March 2, 2026 – Rakuten Mobile, Inc., Rakuten Symphony, Inc. and Nokia today announced that Nokia’s cloud-native network functions (CNFs), including IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) for voice services, Subscriber Data Management (SDM), Cloud Signaling Director (CSD), Mediation and NetGuard Certificate Manager, are now deployed and running in live commercial operations at Rakuten Mobile on Rakuten Cloud.

Building on earlier validation completed at Rakuten Mobile’s Cloud Innovation Lab in Tokyo, this milestone confirms Nokia’s cloud-native IMS Core network services operating seamlessly alongside other cloud-native network functions on Rakuten Cloud in a production environment, supporting Rakuten Mobile’s fully virtualized, cloud-native network architecture. It further reinforces Rakuten Cloud’s growing ecosystem of partner solutions designed for large-scale, sustainable 5G networks.

By deploying Nokia’s IMS and SDM Core as cloud-native network functions, Rakuten Mobile benefits from Rakuten Cloud-Native Platform architecture that enables faster deployments and upgrades, elastic scaling and enhanced orchestration and automation compared to traditional virtualized Cloud. Rakuten’s cloud-native approach improves network resilience, accelerates service innovation and reduces operational complexity while supporting advanced 4G and 5G services, including voice over LTE.

“This milestone demonstrates that Rakuten Cloud is a true ecosystem platform capable of hosting demanding telco workloads where leading partners like Nokia can deploy mission-critical network functions at scale in a live environment,” said Partha Seetala, President, Cloud Business Unit, Rakuten Symphony. “With Nokia’s 4G and 5G IMS, SDM, CSD, Mediation and NetGuard cloud-native functions running in Rakuten Mobile’s commercial network, we are delivering a real-world blueprint for operators to modernize their core networks with greater automation, agility and sustainability.”

“Our collaboration with Rakuten Symphony and Rakuten Mobile highlights the strength of Nokia’s multi-cloud strategy and our commitment to open, cloud-native innovation,” said Marcelo Cheminn Madruga, Head of Technology and Platforms, Core Software at Nokia. “Together, we are enabling operators to operate their core networks with greater flexibility, automation and sustainability, ready for the demands of 5G and future services.”

This announcement underscores Rakuten Symphony’s strategy to expand the Rakuten Cloud ecosystem with best-in-class partner solutions and to deliver a unified cloud platform for deploying, operating and scaling next-generation mobile networks globally.

https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/...20260302_01_lang_en

 

Rakuten's Mikitani urges carriers to mine data and build revenue ecosystems

Mikitani Hiroshi presses telecoms to turn subscriber insights into a profitable, data-driven ecosystem

Published 2026.03.03.

"Mobile carriers hold more data than Google, but they are not making proper use of it. They are just sitting on a data 'gold mine."

Mikitani Hiroshi, chairman of Rakuten, said in a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, on the 2nd (local time), "Carriers can seek new revenue generation measures by leveraging subscriber data and customer engagement, not just spectrum resources." He said Rakuten is actively using this to maximize revenue while also cutting operating expense.

Chairman Mikitani mentioned Rakuten's ecosystem. In addition to telecommunications, Rakuten also encompasses online commerce and financial businesses. He explained that Rakuten Mobile users, after subscribing, use 2.43 times more services within the Rakuten ecosystem than before, spend about 50% more on the Rakuten marketplace (Rakuten Ichiba), make 20% more travel bookings (Rakuten Travel), and increase credit card usage by about 30%.

Chairman Mikitani said, "We are securing more than 3 trillion data points annually," and noted, "By analyzing data, we can predict and learn consumer behavior." He said that beyond analyzing user habits to convert subscribers into members of the Rakuten ecosystem, Rakuten is also building its own large language model (LLM) and maximizing advertising revenue by harnessing vast datasets. He said, "Based on data obtained from mobile services alone, we are earning about €250 million (428
Chairman Mikitani proposed, "We aim not only to help carriers tap into software technology, but also to provide know-how on how to convert subscribers into profitable memberships." He said, "I believe it is time for carriers to go beyond merely providing network connectivity and offer richer consumer services," adding, "If the advantages gained from telecom services can be converted into an ecosystem, it will have a very positive impact on the business."

https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-it/2026/03/03/VZM6EG7DGFCJLGGE3D4QAJLVJY/

 

Rakuten Card celebrated its 20th anniversary in July of 2025, it did so as a category leader in Japan, with over 30 million cards issued and a reputation for innovation. But back in 2005, this outcome was far from guaranteed.

Rakuten Card was established after Rakuten acquired Kyushu-based finance company Kokunai Shinpan. The two organizations couldn’t have been more different; Kokunai Shinpan’s business followed a traditional consumer lending model, while Rakuten was in the middle of building a fast-growing e-commerce marketplace driven by the rise of the internet. Thus began a venture into the unknown for both, with their differing cultures and business models.

As other companies competed to have the most prestigious offering, Rakuten Card opted to pursue something simple and accessible in a country where credit cards had not yet become part of everyday life.

Simplicity, timing, and industry turmoil

Rakuten Card launched with a refreshingly straightforward proposition: no annual fees, and one Rakuten Point for every 100 yen spent. At the time, when most credit card offerings were tied to complex fee structures and limited rewards, Rakuten Card’s clarity stood out. It was devoted to acquiring new members, primarily focusing on Rakuten Ichiba users.

However, after acquiring Kokunai Shinpan, it became clear that a significant volume of uncollected debts threatened the business, creating serious management challenges. Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO, Mikitani, and the leadership team promptly convened a company-wide meeting to communicate the situation to all employees. And so began a coordinated effort to recover the uncollected debts, with specific targets and regular progress reports. Through this disciplined approach, the collection rate improved substantially, and the outstanding debt came down.
Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani addresses the company during the early years of Rakuten Card.

Further change came in 2006, when Japan implemented reforms to eliminate so-called “grey zone interest rates,” a practice that allowed lenders to charge beyond legal interest rate caps. The change forced finance companies around the country to issue refunds and absorb losses. For Rakuten Card, just one year in the market, capital reinforcement became paramount.

The regulatory environment continued to tighten. In 2010, the Japanese government introduced stricter controls on consumer lending, including tighter borrowing limits and enhanced compliance requirements. In response, Rakuten undertook a major business restructuring by shifting focus to its online credit card operations, ultimately leading to the modern Rakuten Card of today.

From signups to spending

Rakuten soon began promoting the card heavily on Rakuten Ichiba. The strategy was simple: Millions of customers were already visiting the marketplace site, and a Rakuten-branded card felt like a natural extension of that experience.

The lack of annual fees made Rakuten Card easy to sign up for, but encouraging cardholders to actually use their card was another challenge. To address this, the team leaned into Rakuten Points, using time-limited promotions and other bonus-point campaigns to reward spending.

With time, Rakuten Card evolved from just another payment option into a meaningful driver of sales on Rakuten Ichiba.  

Rakuten Card was one of the first players in the Japanese credit card industry to launch a smartphone app.

On the tech side, the company invested heavily in customer experience. Rakuten Card was one of the first credit card companies in Japan to launch a dedicated smartphone app, giving users a simple way to track spending. Behind the scenes, call centers were treated as a core function rather than a cost center, based on the philosophy that trust and responsiveness would determine whether customers stayed long term.

Bringing new customers into the Ecosystem

During its early years, Rakuten Card’s growth was closely tied to the Rakuten Ecosystem. That began to change in 2013 with the arrival of an iconic new character: Rakuten Cardman.

The iconic Rakuten Cardman character drove recognition from outside the Rakuten Ecosystem.
TV commercials featuring a well-known Japanese actor, Jay Kabira, aired around the country. They were intentionally simple, and highly effective; Rakuten Cardman became instantly recognizable, and generous signup bonuses helped pull in customers who had never shopped with Rakuten before.
To entice these new customers to use other services in the ecosystem, Rakuten took on another bold challenge, launching the Rakuten Super Point Up program in 2016. It was another simple proposition: customers would earn progressively more points the more Rakuten services they used. Now, using enough services could allow some users to earn as much as 18 points for every 100 yen spent on Rakuten Ichiba.

Rakuten Card was central to this program from the very beginning. It was the easiest entry point, and for many users, it soon earned a reputation as ‘the card that keeps the points flowing.’ These points could then be used elsewhere in the ecosystem, or even in physical stores around Japan through Rakuten payment services, encouraging regular use over occasional big purchases.

Rakuten Card serves as the glue connecting the ecosystem’s many financial services.

The program drove significant growth, particularly for Rakuten’s financial businesses. Rakuten Bank accounts doubled over a five year period. Collaboration between Rakuten’s banking, securities, payments, and insurance companies deepened, and cross-usage between different Rakuten services also doubled.

Journey to the top

Rakuten Card’s long-term strategy has clearly paid dividends. In 2017, it became the number one* credit card in Japan by annual shopping transaction volume. In 2020, that volume surpassed 10 trillion yen, and more than 30 million cards have been issued domestically as of 2023.

In Taiwan, Rakuten Card has launched numerous partnerships cementing its reputation as the ‘travel card.’

The card has also expanded beyond Japan. It launched in Taiwan in 2015, where it enjoys a strong reputation as a high-cashback ‘travel card,’ particularly popular among shoppers visiting Japan.  
Today, Rakuten Card is working to attract the younger generation with more personalization, premium programs, and more colorful designs, without abandoning the simplicity that defined its early appeal.
An ecosystem-focused strategy paired with a clear understanding of what people actually want from a credit card have driven remarkable growth over two decades. Here’s to 20 more years!

https://rakuten.today/blog/japans-favorite-credit-card-turns-20.html

 

Nokia’s IMS and SDM Cloud-Native Core Powering Rakuten Mobile 4G and 5G Core, Now Live on Rakuten Cloud

- Proven in live operations: Nokia cloud-native 4G and 5G IMS and SDM Core are running in production at Rakuten Mobile on Rakuten Cloud
- Cloud-native transformation: Nokia migrates 4G virtual network functions (VNF) to cloud-native functions for automation, scale and agility

Mobile World Congress Barcelona & Tokyo, March 2, 2026 – Rakuten Mobile, Inc., Rakuten Symphony, Inc. and Nokia today announced that Nokia’s cloud-native network functions (CNFs), including IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) for voice services, Subscriber Data Management (SDM), Cloud Signaling Director (CSD), Mediation and NetGuard Certificate Manager, are now deployed and running in live commercial operations at Rakuten Mobile on Rakuten Cloud*1.

Building on earlier validation completed at Rakuten Mobile’s Cloud Innovation Lab in Tokyo*2, this milestone confirms Nokia’s cloud-native IMS Core network services operating seamlessly alongside other cloud-native network functions on Rakuten Cloud in a production environment, supporting Rakuten Mobile’s fully virtualized, cloud-native network architecture. It further reinforces Rakuten Cloud’s growing ecosystem of partner solutions designed for large-scale, sustainable 5G networks.

By deploying Nokia’s IMS and SDM Core as cloud-native network functions, Rakuten Mobile benefits from Rakuten Cloud-Native Platform architecture that enables faster deployments and upgrades, elastic scaling and enhanced orchestration and automation compared to traditional virtualized Cloud. Rakuten’s cloud-native approach improves network resilience, accelerates service innovation and reduces operational complexity while supporting advanced 4G and 5G services, including voice over LTE.

“This milestone demonstrates that Rakuten Cloud is a true ecosystem platform capable of hosting demanding telco workloads where leading partners like Nokia can deploy mission-critical network functions at scale in a live environment,” said Partha Seetala, President, Cloud Business Unit, Rakuten Symphony. “With Nokia’s 4G and 5G IMS, SDM, CSD, Mediation and NetGuard cloud-native functions running in Rakuten Mobile’s commercial network, we are delivering a real-world blueprint for operators to modernize their core networks with greater automation, agility and sustainability.”

“Our collaboration with Rakuten Symphony and Rakuten Mobile highlights the strength of Nokia’s multi-cloud strategy and our commitment to open, cloud-native innovation,” said Marcelo Cheminn Madruga, Head of Technology and Platforms, Core Software at Nokia. “Together, we are enabling operators to operate their core networks with greater flexibility, automation and sustainability, ready for the demands of 5G and future services.”

This announcement underscores Rakuten Symphony’s strategy to expand the Rakuten Cloud ecosystem with best-in-class partner solutions and to deliver a unified cloud platform for deploying, operating and scaling next-generation mobile networks globally.

https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/...20260302_01_lang_en

 

As Open RAN is both economically viable and highly performing, it’s here to stay and thrive

The Tale of the Rakuten Journey

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/...0Final-March%25201%25202026.pdf

 

Rakuten Mobile made a disruptive market entry

Launched in April 2020 as Japan’s fourth mobile network operator (MNO), Rakuten Mobile made a disruptive market entry with the bold move of building its network from scratch with open RAN, which at the time was an immature RAN novel architecture. Almost six years later, it has achieved significant milestones in subscriber growth, network innovation, and customer satisfaction. The company is showing the world that even in one of the most competitive mobile markets on the planet, open RAN combined with cloud and high automation is economically viable and highly performing. Case in point: 10M subscribers and full-year EBITDA profitability achieved in 2025.

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/...0Final-March%25201%25202026.pdf
 

Equipped with this unique unparalleled experience, the Rakuten Group launched Rakuten Symphony in August 2021 to promote its expertise and sell its open RAN network platform all over the world. As of December 31, 2025, Rakuten Symphony reported 74 customers, including its flagship one 1&1 in Germany, which also built an open RAN network from scratch and successfully migrated 12M MVNO subscribers to the new innovative platform.

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/...0Final-March%25201%25202026.pdf
 

Rakuten Symphony achieved full-year Non-GAAP operating profit for the first time since its foundation in August 2021 and added 30 new customers during the year. It’s worth noting that its RAN revenue structure has shifted from the delivery of low-margin hardware to a major customer, to high-margin software and its customization and maintenance.

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/...0Final-March%25201%25202026.pdf
 

Building global IP through comic production at Rakuten Content Central

February 4, 2026

The comic content market has been continuously growing in recent years. Digital distribution has made comics accessible to readers everywhere, while adaptations into animation and live-action drama have turned popular series into global phenomena. Amidst this trend, Rakuten Content Central, a content label at Rakuten that handles everything from IP (Intellectual Property) development to comprehensive content production, has been making a name for itself in the comic production business.
Since its entry into the market in January 2024, Rakuten’s content division has released over 70 titles and achieved numerous hits. What is fueling the rapid rise of Rakuten Content Central? We spoke with Gil Kim, who is in charge of the comic production business to find out.
The comic content market has been thriving lately.  Can you share insights on the current state and emerging trends?
Kim: In recent years, the comic content market has seen the global establishment of new formats, centered around vertical-scroll comics, in addition to print and digital formats. South Korea, has been at the forefront of this innovation, serving as the birthplace and largest supplier of vertical-scroll comics. and it has continuously developed over the past 20 years as an export industry alongside its domestic market.
We have also seen a growing emphasis on IP-centric development, where secondary applications like animation, games, and live-action adaptations are considered from the initial stages. A great example is “Itaewon Class.” This Korean vertical-scroll comic was adapted into a drama and multiple other formats, ultimately becoming a hit in Japan and around the world. The vertical-scroll comic market is expected to continue expanding, with forecasts predicting growth from approximately 10.85 billion USD in 2025 to about 48.31 billion USD in 2030.
What was the motivation for Rakuten Content Central to enter the comic content market, and what is its position in the market?
Kim: Originally, Rakuten Content Central focused on secondary development, such as dramas and anime, by leveraging licensed IP from other companies. However, to secure our own IP as a source of mid- to long-term competitive advantage, and strengthen the sustainability of the business, we shifted toward developing original works with future adaptations in mind. This strategic pivot led us to enter the comic market.
Our core focus is on producing works that maximize the strengths of individual titles. We foster the long-term value of each work by considering the country, language, target readership, and characteristics of each platform to create an optimal distribution strategy. In addition, our uniqueness lies in the IP development that leverages the Rakuten Group’s ecosystem, including digital touchpoints, big data, e-commerce, and more.
Both in Japan and globally, fewer companies have the organized infrastructure required for secondary developments. We believe that by combining the Rakuten Ecosystem with comics, there is significant room to pioneer new markets and drive endless expansion.
How do you, as a producer, get involved?
Kim: There are two patterns for handling content. One is acquiring distribution rights for existing comics, translating them, and developing them in Japan- this is what we call procurement. I mainly handle overseas content, focusing on Korean content, and read every episode from beginning to end for selection. Vertical-scroll comics, read from top to bottom like a web page, are well-received by younger generations and are easier to view for international readers, including those in North America. This accessible format is a major advantage for global expansion. Also, compared to Japan’s stricter publishing industry, Korea offers more flexibility for secondary adaptations. This enables the creation of diverse formats like animation, games, and live-action that can appeal to a wider audience.
The other pattern is creating original content from scratch. I’m involved in the project from the planning stage, handling content selection, production, terms negotiation, and even arranging for illustrators. Recently, we launched the North American distribution of our original work, “Isekai Single Papa.” This work was produced in collaboration with an animation studio, and the story elements are also close to animation. During the production process, we carefully selected illustrators whose art style best suited the story and visuals. This project is close to my heart and we’re hoping to develop an animation adaptation in the future.
What are your criteria for content selection?
Kim: The major premise is, “Can I, as a producer, find it interesting?” Although it’s a sensory aspect, it’s also the most crucial point. I have always loved Japanese animation and came to Japan with the aim of becoming an animator.
At the same time, I also consider how the work will sell and its post-release development. I look at the readership and competitive situation, decide which e-book platforms and bookstores to distribute to, and select works that fit these channels. What’s important is localizing works with “universal appeal” that transcend language and cultural differences, tailored to each market, and delivering them in the optimal format.
If a work isn’t suitable for e-books, I sometimes propose it to publishers if I think it would be a good fit for print. We also strategically pick up works that might be more popular overseas than in Japan and distribute them globally. In fact, we select content likely to be in demand across regions such as the Middle East, Taiwan, and Ukraine, and distribute it on a per-work basis.
Could you share some of your proudest achievements in the comic content market?
Kim: Among the works we have handled so far, there are several instances where they achieved top rankings on major domestic and international platforms. One such example is “The Fake Saintess Awaits Her Exit.” We selected it because we believed its coloring and art style were a good match for vertical-scroll comics. When localizing it for the Japanese version, we changed all the dialogue to horizontal writing to suit the web environment. Traditionally, Japanese manga dialogue is written vertically, but younger generations prefer horizontal reading for improved readability. Since the original Korean work was written horizontally, we avoided costly redesigns of speech bubbles and panels.
We also conducted promotions for certain works through collaborations with various industries. The pro-wrestling manga “Call Center ~Yes, Sunohara is in Charge” is an example. For this work, we partnered with a women’s pro-wrestling organization and conducted promotional activities at pro-wrestling venues.
Vertical-scroll comics often end with just reading them, so the challenge is how to maintain continuous engagement with readers. Our emphasis in collaborations is creating experiential value at real-world touchpoints. We prioritize creating a pathway that provides opportunities to encounter the work through collaboration, builds a fandom, and ultimately leads to long-term subscriptions.
The team’s emphasis in collaborations is creating experiential value at real-world touchpoints.
We are also focusing on collaborations with global IPs. This year, we started producing and distributing “Disney Twisted-Tale: A What-If Story” as the first vertical digital comic in Japan. This series, based on the “Disney Twisted Tales” novel series, depicts “what if” stories where something is distorted in Disney’s classic masterpieces, and it has been well received by readers.
What does the future of comic content look like for Rakuten Content Central?
Kim: I want to create works that remain in people’s memories. I strive to create timeless works that remain loved long after completion, rather than chasing short-term buzz.
Our goal is to make content that goes beyond everyday consumption and becomes something that will live on for our readers. To that end, we want to strengthen secondary developments beyond just comics, including anime, games, and merchandise. Among these, we focus particularly on anime adaptations. While drama and film adaptations are also appealing, when considering long-term development, anime is ultimately the most suitable. Especially in Japan, it’s not uncommon for a single anime to be broadcast for an extended period. Furthermore, unlike Japan, where manga culture is deeply rooted, audience overseas often discover manga through anime. So we believe anime adaptations are indispensable for spreading works globally.
However, we cannot do this alone. We need to build trusting relationships with excellent partners, such as authors and production companies, to create a system that allows content to continue to grow. We aim to create IPs that transcend borders and languages, reaching readers around the world.

https://rakuten.today/blog/...duction-at-rakuten-content-central.html