Rakuten Opens Chiba Branch Office

Tokyo, January 30, 2015 – Rakuten, Inc. today announced that it has opened the Chiba Branch Office in order to strengthen its support system for merchants on Rakuten Ichiba and hotels registered on Rakuten Travel in Chiba Prefecture. The Chiba Branch Office is the 16^th domestic brand office of the company. The opening ceremony for the new branch was held today and work will begin at the office on February 2, 2015.

Since 2000, starting with the establishment of the Osaka Branch Office, Rakuten has been opening branch offices nationwide with the goal of provided on-hand support to its merchants on Rakuten Ichiba and the hotels registered on Rakuten Travel around the country. This newly-opened Chiba Branch Office will be the company’s 16^th location within Japan, and its third in the Kanto area, following the Yokohama Branch Office and Saitama Branch Office.

By opening the Chiba Branch Office, Rakuten will continue its efforts to contribute to the local economy of Chiba Prefecture and regional promotion through strengthened sales-promotion support for merchants using Rakuten Ichiba and hotels registered on Rakuten Travel in the Kanto and Chiba areas.

Address: 10F, WESTRIO Chiba Fukoku Seimei Bldg., 1-4-3 Shin Chiba, Chuo-ku, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture
Staff: 20 employees (Rakuten Ichiba: 15 employees; Rakuten Travel: 5 employees
Business Activities:
- Support for merchants located in Chiba Prefecture on Rakuten Ichiba
- Support for hotels located in Chiba Prefecture registered on Rakuten Travel

History of Branch Office Establishment to Date
December 2000                Osaka Branch Office 
June 2005                         Fukuoka Branch Office 
January 2006                    Tohoku Business Department of the Rakuten Ichiba Business is established
                                          in the Sendai Branch Office (opened October 2004) 
July 2006                          Sapporo Branch Office 
February 2007                  Nagoya Branch Office 
November 2007                Kobe Branch Office 
April 2008                         Hiroshima Branch Office 
June 2008                         Niigata Branch Office 
September 2008               Okinawa Area Group of the Rakuten Ichiba Business is established
                                          in the Rakuten Travel Okinawa Branch Office
November 2008                Kyoto Branch Office
December 2008                Yokohama Branch Office 
July 2009                          Matsuyama Branch Office 
October 2009                    Kagoshima Branch Office 
February 2010                   Saitama Branch Office
July 2013                          Shizuoka Branch Office