Tokyo, March 17, 2020 - Rakuten, Inc. today announced that due to concerns for employee safety arising from the spread of COVID-19, the company will postpone the entrance ceremony planned for the approximately 700 new employees set to join the company from April 1, 2020, and implement dedicated online training for this group from April 2.
Entrance Ceremony:
・ The entrance ceremony originally planned for April 1, 2020, will be postponed.
・ Taking into account the implications of the future spread of COVID-19, the company will carefully consider possible future options for holding the ceremony.
New Employee Training:
・ Training will be implemented for approximately 700 new employees due to start work at Rakuten, Inc. on April 1.
・ Dedicated online training will be planned for implementation for at least one month. Taking into account the implications of the future spread of COVID-19, the company will carefully consider possible future options for in-person training.
・ The training program will include courses on business fundamentals, programming and use of AI.
All Rakuten group companies both in Japan and overseas are collaborating closely to develop and implement internal measures following the respective policies and instructions of government and local authorities to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These measures include the following.
Main measures implemented in Japan as of March 17, 2020
・ Strongly encourage all group employees to stagger working hours to avoid congestion during the commute.
・ Encourage all group employees to work from home, unless business needs require work in the office.
・ Implementation of all Rakuten Group events to be subject to review taking into account the implications of the future spread of COVID-19.
・ All non-essential domestic and overseas business trip to be avoided.
・ Encouraging various health and sanitation measures in the workplace, including handwashing, gargling, wearing masks and opening windows to improve ventilation.
Rakuten will continue to monitor the situation and implement measures to support the health and safety of its employees and partners.