Hiroshi Mikitani
Founder and CEO of Rakuten, Japan’s e-commerce giant
- Age
- 61 yrs
- Birthday in 125 days
- Works listed
- 1
- Book
- Honours
- 0
- Awards & distinctions
- Profile views
- 3
- 0 followers
Hiroshi Mikitani is a Japanese businessman who left the Industrial Bank of Japan to found Rakuten in 1997, an online marketplace that became Japan’s largest. Rakuten expanded into banking, travel, Viber and mobile networks, and he made English its official language.
Biography
Background
Mikitani studied at Hitotsubashi University and earned an MBA at Harvard. He worked at the Industrial Bank of Japan.
Kobe earthquake
The 1995 Kobe earthquake, which killed relatives, convinced him to start his own business.
Rakuten
In 1997 he founded Rakuten Ichiba with 13 shops. It became Japan’s biggest online mall and expanded into finance, travel, Kobo e-readers and Viber.
Mobile and sport
In 2010 he made English Rakuten’s official language. Rakuten Mobile launched a cloud-native network in 2020. He owns the Vissel Kobe football club and the Rakuten Eagles baseball team.
Timeline
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1965
Born in Kobe, Japan
-
1995
Kobe earthquake
-
1997
Founds Rakuten
-
2000
Rakuten listed
-
2010
English made official language
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2014
Buys Viber
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2020
Rakuten Mobile network
Notable works
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2013
Marketplace 3.0 Book
Did you know?
-
1
Rakuten sponsored FC Barcelona’s shirts.
-
2
Andrés Iniesta played for his club Vissel Kobe.
-
3
He founded the Japan Association of New Economy, a business lobby group.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Hiroshi Mikitani?
Hiroshi Mikitani is a Japanese businessman who left the Industrial Bank of Japan to found Rakuten in 1997, an online marketplace that became Japan’s largest. Rakuten expanded into banking, travel, Viber and mobile networks, and he made English its official language.
How old is Hiroshi Mikitani?
Hiroshi Mikitani is 61 years old, born on 11 March 1965 in Kobe, Japan.
Where is Hiroshi Mikitani from?
Hiroshi Mikitani was born in Kobe, Japan.
What is Hiroshi Mikitani known for?
Hiroshi Mikitani is best known for Founding Rakuten (1997); “Englishnization” of his company; Rakuten Mobile.
References
- Hiroshi Mikitani — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Hiroshi Mikitani (Q5366748) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Hiroshi Mikitani”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Hiroshi Mikitani.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/hiroshi-mikitani
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