Corporate Governance
Rakuten's Approach
Our corporate mission since founding is based on the empowerment of individuals and society through innovation and entrepreneurship. We contribute to social
innovation and enrichment by boosting the growth of as many people as possible, while providing services that ensure a high standard of satisfaction for both
users and partner enterprises.
To achieve this, the Group has been implementing various measures by making rigorous corporate governance its highest
priority.
For the details on Rakuten’s corporate governance, please see the
Corporate Governance Report
submitted to Tokyo Stock Exchange on March 28th, 2025.
Management System
The Company has adopted a company with an Audit & Supervisory Board structure, in which highly independent Audit & Supervisory Board Members provide auditing functions in order to improve the transparency of the Company’s management and ensure its appropriateness, efficiency, fairness, and soundness. The Company has supervised management through an Audit & Supervisory Board, where a majority of the members are Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Members. Additionally, in order to separate the supervisory and executive roles of management, the Company has adopted an Executive Officer System in which the Board retains responsibility for management decision-making and supervision, while Executive Officers are responsible for executive functions.
The Company’s Board of Directors, which includes Outside Directors who are highly independent experts from a variety of fields, supervises the execution of business from an objective perspective and engages in casual and multilateral discussions on management. Furthermore, the Company holds meetings, where debates are held about Group management strategy, etc., and all Officers, including Outside Officers, attend, in principle, separately from the meetings of the Board of Directors. Participants discuss matters from a medium- to long-term perspective rather than confining themselves to short-term issues or items discussed at the meetings of the Board of Directors, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of corporate governance. In addition, we have introduced an internal Company System to ensure agile business execution and clear accountability.
Through such efforts, the Rakuten Group will continue to build a management structure with more highly effective governance functions that enables swift management decisions.
Board of Directors
The Company makes determinations and decisions via board resolution about matters that are legally required to be resolved at the Board of Directors, as well as about strategically important matters that the Company has deemed should be resolved at the Board. These items are stipulated in “the Rakuten Group Authority Table,” which includes matters related to finance, M&A, assets, accounting, annual budget and business plan, cost expenditure, human resources, intellectual property, organizations and information security. Similarly, approving authority is entrusted to the CEO and the executive officers responsible for Company, and stipulated in “the Rakuten Group Authority Table.”
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Audit & Supervisory Board
The Audit & Supervisory Board of our company comprises four members, including two full-time auditors, with a majority being Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Members. The Audit & Supervisory Board holds regular meetings and convenes extraordinary sessions as required. An Auditors Office is also established under the Audit & Supervisory Board to support the auditors in their duties.
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Effectiveness of the Board of Directors
To enhance effectiveness of the Board of Directors, the Company carried out an annual survey among all of the Directors and the Audit & Supervisory Board Members from December 2024 to January 2025 about the operation of the Board meetings and the composition of the Board of Directors, and the results were reported to the Board of Directors in February 2025.
Through the survey the effectiveness of the Board of Directors was generally confirmed. The Company will continue to work to improve the Board to enhance its effectiveness.
Directors
Rakuten’s Board of Directors at a Glance
The Company selects candidates for Directors who embody the Companyʼs corporate philosophy at a high level and who have high potential to contribute to further development of the Group. By making each Directorʼs term of office one year, the Company upholds the principle of reflecting the will of its shareholders.
In particular, the Board of Directors of the Company selects persons who have extensive experience from a global perspective, professional knowledge, and are able to play a leading role in areas such as IT, finance, corporate management, legal and risk management, financial accounting, public administration, and consulting, and who are capable of appropriately guiding and supervising the execution of business at Rakuten Group.
The Board of Directors consists of nine Directors, which the Company believes to be an appropriate size in order to conduct management decision-making and supervision.
Additionally, the Company places emphasis on the diversity of its Directors in terms of gender, nationality, etc. This is reflected by the appointment of two women and three foreign nationals as Directors among its nine Directors, and two women and three foreign national among its six Outside Directors.
Details of the Directors
| Director Type | Name and Reason for Appointment |
Term of Office (years) |
Board / Audit Board Meeting Attendance (FY2024) |
Skills | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IT |
Finance |
Corporate Management |
Legal & Risk Management |
Accounting |
Global Experience |
|||||
| Board of Directors |
Chair |
Hiroshi Mikitani
|
28 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | ● | ● | ||
|
Kentaro Hyakuno
|
4 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | ● | ● | ||||
|
Kenji Hirose
|
2 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||
| Independent Directors |
Takaharu Ando
|
2 | 92% (12/13 meetings) |
● | ● | |||||
|
Sarah J.M. Whitley
|
6 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | ||||||
|
Tsedal Neeley
|
2 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | ||||||
|
Charles B. Baxter
|
2 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | ● | |||||
|
Shigeki Habuka
|
2 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | ||||||
|
Takashi Mitachi
|
9 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | ||||||
| Audit Board |
Yoshito Naganuma
|
2 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | |||||
| Independent Audit & Supervisory Board Members |
Futoshi Nakamura
|
1 | 100% (10/10 meetings) |
● | ● | ● | ||||
|
Maki Kataoka
|
2 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | ● | |||||
|
Katsuyuki Yamaguchi
|
24 | 100% (13/13 meetings) |
● | ● | ||||||
Executive Compensation
Basic Policies
The compensation for the Company’s Directors is determined based on the following basic policies.
For executive Directors, a level of compensation that is globally competitive is set to secure and maintain excellent human resources. The portion of share options is designed to be high to promote sustainable growth of the Company by improving medium- to long-term corporate value and achieving management goals. For non-executive Directors, a level of compensation that is globally competitive is set to secure and maintain excellent human resources who will support management with global expertise.
Compensation Structure
The compensation of executive Directors comprises the followings:
- Basic compensation (fixed, monthly payment)
- Performance-linked compensation (performance-linked bonuses as short-term incentive compensation, annual payment)
- Non-cash based compensation (stock-based compensation stock option as medium- to long-term incentive compensation, annual payment)
Additionally, the ratio of basic compensation, performance-linked compensation, and non-cash-based compensation is set based on the position and role of each Executive Director.
The compensation of the Non-executive Directors who are independent of business execution comprises the followings:
- Basic compensation (fixed, monthly payment)
- Non-cash based compensation (stock-based compensation stock option as medium- to long-term incentive compensation, annual payment)
The ratio of basic compensation, performance-linked compensation and non-cash based compensation is set based on the role of each Director.
| Type of Compensation |
Method of Determination |
Maximum Amount of Compensation per year |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Directors |
a）Basic compensation (fixed, monthly payment) | The ratio of basic compensation, performance-linked compensation and non-cash based compensation is set based on the role of each Director. | 1.7 billion yen |
| b）Performance-linked compensation (performance-linked bonuses as short-term incentive compensation, annual payment) | |||
| c）Non-cash based compensation (stock-based compensation stock option as medium- to long-term incentive compensation, annual payment) | Share options 10,000 | ||
| Non-executive Directors |
a）Basic compensation (fixed, monthly payment) | 200 million yen | |
| b）Performance-linked compensation (performance-linked bonuses as short-term incentive compensation, annual payment) | Share options 1,000 |
Indicators and Method of Calculation
To increase awareness of the development and expansion of the Rakuten Ecosystem, multiple KPIs such as consolidated operating income (loss) of each fiscal year have been selected for performance-linked compensation and non-cash based compensation. They are linked to growth and profitability. Individual evaluations are determined based on the achievement of targets for the indicator set by the managing organization of each Executive Director. The indicator includes carbon neutrality commitment, etc. The amount paid is determined based on individual evaluations and overall company performance.
For Non-executive Directors, performance-linked compensation is not applicable. There are no indicators for non-cash based compensation. The Company has decided that a percentage of the total amount of compensation for each Non-executive Director shall be non-cash compensation determined based on the role of each Non-executive Director.
Determination Process
The Company’s Board of Directors resolves the compensation policy for Directors after providing explanations to Independent Outside Directors and obtaining their appropriate advice. Other decision-making processes are also explained to the Independent Outside Directors at the Board of Directors as necessary, and appropriate advice is obtained.
The amount of individual compensation for Directors is determined by Hiroshi Mikitani, the Representative Director, Chairman, President & CEO, who is delegated this authority by the Board of Directors within the compensation limit determined at the general shareholders’ meeting and in accordance with the compensation policy. He evaluates the business each Director is in charge of while considering the Company’s overall performance and obtaining advice from Outside Directors as necessary to determine the amount of individual compensation. Thus, the Board of Directors believes that the content of individual compensation, etc. is in line with the compensation policy.