Mikitani to new hires: Master the ‘Genba’
For many Japanese companies, April marks a fresh start. Not only is it the beginning of a new financial year, it’s also when most fresh university graduates start their new careers.
These new hires are typically received at a welcome ceremony. At Rakuten, this rite of passage is defined each year by a personal address from Group Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani, who instills the company’s core philosophy into its next generation of leaders.
Below is an abridged version of Mikitani’s April 2026 address.
Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten Group
Every year at this ceremony, I try to remember what I was thinking when I first became a business person. I joined the Industrial Bank of Japan (now Mizuho) in 1988 – a long time ago. Eventually, I left the world of traditional banking to start Rakuten in 1997.
At the time, almost nobody was buying things on the internet. Almost all internet companies were struggling. Everybody knew that the internet would be popular, but nobody believed you could actually make money on it.
In spite of this, we decided to take on the challenge. We set ourselves an ambitious mission: to help the local economy and empower small- to medium-sized merchants who were struggling to sell their products across Japan.
On your first day here, you might be wondering: what made Rakuten so successful? Of the millions of IT startups in Japan and around the world, why was Rakuten able to reach this scale?
The truth is, the world of business is not easy. I wish it was, but it isn’t. Competition is fierce – very fierce. Look at search; only Google really survived. Look at AI; there’s a cutthroat competition between frontier AI companies.
To survive in this environment, you need more than just a dream. You need the ability to keep winning in a world that is becoming increasingly complicated and messy.
Boots on the ground: Genba-ryoku
The biggest difference I see between those who fail and those who reach this scale is the ability to execute. I have been looking for a good English translation, but I haven’t yet found one that truly matches this Japanese concept: Genba-ryoku.
Genba literally means the ‘actual place’ – the front lines, where the ‘real’ work happens. Ryoku means power, or capability. Together they describe the ability of a person to truly execute when it matters most – the grit required to solve problems at the source.
Whether you are an engineer, a creative or a salesperson, you must give 120% of your effort to always be improving on those front lines, where the action is.
In the era of AI, this is even more critical. If you cannot leverage AI and execute at the Genba level, you may find yourself replaced by someone who can.
You need to be strong, you need to be accountable, and you need to truly understand what is happening on the ground. This is what I think has led Rakuten to such great success.
Get out there and start building trust
For the first few years of your career, your most important task is to earn trust – from your colleagues, from your clients, and from your community. Once you have that trust, your advancement will speed up. Mastering Genba-ryoku is the best way to achieve that.
This is something that I am personally invested in. I’m currently working with last year’s new-graduates through the Mikitani Entrepreneurship Program, communicating with them almost every day about how to improve our Rakuten Mobile shops and grow as professionals. I get to watch them become accountable business people before my eyes.
Today is a day that you will remember for the rest of your career. My message to you all is simple: be strong, keep improving, and find your strength through the power of the Genba.
