Built by a hiring manager who's conducted 1,000+ interviews at Google, Amazon, Nvidia, and Adobe.
Built by a hiring manager who's conducted 1,000+ interviews at Google, Amazon, Nvidia, and Adobe.
By Revarta Editorial Team
Reviewed by Vamsi Narla, Former Hiring Manager at Google, Amazon & Adobe · Last verified March 22, 2026
Rakuten's interview process blends Japanese corporate structure with a uniquely international culture driven by its Englishnization policy — English is the official company language. Candidates are assessed on entrepreneurial thinking, technical ability, and alignment with Rakuten's Shugi Principles. The process is more startup-like than traditional Japanese companies, reflecting founder Hiroshi Mikitani's vision of a global internet services ecosystem.
What to expect at each stage of the interview
Application review with coding tests for engineering roles. Rakuten values English proficiency alongside technical skills. Some roles include online aptitude assessments.
Interview covering motivation, cultural fit, and alignment with Rakuten Shugi Principles. Conducted in English regardless of location.
Practice these frequently asked questions to prepare for your interview
Tip: Discuss personalisation, loyalty programme integration (Rakuten Super Points), seller tools, and cross-platform ecosystem benefits.
Tip: Emphasise rapid decision-making and execution. Rakuten's culture prizes speed as a core competitive advantage.
Understand the company culture to align your interview responses
Embracing continuous improvement through daily kaizen, never settling for the current state.
Bringing deep expertise and genuine passion to every challenge, maintaining the highest professional standards.
Using data-driven experimentation to validate ideas and systematise successful practices (shikumika = systemisation).
Putting the customer at the centre of every decision, continuously improving the shopping and service experience.
Moving with urgency, making decisions quickly, and executing faster than competitors. Speed is a competitive advantage.
Focusing on execution and results over perfection, taking ownership and delivering outcomes.
Rakuten offers a distinctively international environment within Japan, with English as the official language and employees from over 70 countries. The Tokyo Crimson House headquarters features modern collaborative spaces, a cafeteria serving free meals, and a startup energy unusual for a company of its size.
Insider advice to help you stand out
Rakuten's five principles for success are central to its culture and interviews. Understand each principle and prepare examples demonstrating them in your work.
Rakuten pioneered Englishnization in Japan — all interviews are conducted in English. Practice articulating technical concepts clearly in English.
Rakuten connects e-commerce, fintech, mobile, and digital content through a unified membership and loyalty points system. Understand how these pieces create competitive advantage.
Built with extensive experience - conducting interviews and passing interviews at Google, NVIDIA, Amazon, Adobe and Remitly
Practice interview questions by speaking out loud (not typing). Hit record and start speaking your answers naturally.
Your responses are processed in real-time, transcribing and analyzing your performance.
Receive detailed analysis and improved answer suggestions. See exactly what's holding you back and how to fix it.
Explore interview prep for related companies
Role-specific technical assessment. Engineering roles include coding exercises and system design. Business roles include case studies on e-commerce strategy.
Interview with the hiring manager and potential team members. Assesses collaboration style, entrepreneurial thinking, and long-term career fit.
Hiring decision communicated relatively quickly compared to traditional Japanese companies. Offers include Rakuten's comprehensive benefits package.
Typical Timeline: 3-6 weeks from application to offer
Tip: Discuss Rakuten's merchant empowerment model versus Amazon's direct retail. Cover loyalty points, fintech integration, and mobile synergies.
Tip: Show comfort communicating in English with non-native speakers. Discuss how you adapted communication for clarity.
Tip: Walk through each step: form a hypothesis, test it, validate with data, then systematise the successful approach.
Tip: Discuss Rakuten Super Points as a unifying mechanism across shopping, banking, mobile, and travel services.
Tip: Show scrappy execution. Demonstrate how you prioritised, found creative solutions, and delivered results.
Tip: Discuss pricing disruption, network buildout challenges, ecosystem bundling, and the Open RAN technology advantage.
Tip: Reference Rakuten's unique ecosystem model, international culture within Japan, and specific products or services that interest you.
Tip: Share specific sources and how you apply industry knowledge to your work. Show genuine curiosity about the digital commerce space.
Rakuten's culture emphasises rapid execution. Prepare examples of fast decision-making, quick iteration, and bias for action over analysis paralysis.
Rakuten operates Viber, Kobo, and regional e-commerce platforms globally. Research operations beyond Japan relevant to your role.
The Hypothesize-Practice-Validate-Shikumika framework is data-driven. Show you can form hypotheses, design experiments, and systematise learnings.
Practice as much as you want until you're confident. Practice speaking out loud, privately, without the cringe.
Rome wasn't built in a day, so repeat until you're confident. You can become unstoppable.