The Two Rakutens
Heading into the grandiose welcoming ceremony for new employees, I was utterly surprised by the scale of Rakuten's ambitions to become global...well, on the surface, at least. Dozens of foreign employees from across the globe (especially a group of Chinese students directly hired from the mainland) and the whole ceremony was conducted in English. It seems that Rakuten takes its promise to become English-speaking very seriously. But, as the ceremony continues, the Japanese side of the company really began to take over. Even as (heavily-accented) English continues to fly, the ceremony was no different from any other Japanese one. The big bosses and the little new guys all bowed solemnly, and applause and cheers were not to be heard at any point. Even after the ceremony at a little welcoming snack session, the CEO passing through the room was treated as if homecoming of a celebrity, with us the new guys herded around him for a highly scripted (and highly unnatural and awkward) &q