Lessons for Masayoshi Son in Rakuten's failure to halt Amazon

Culture-specific niches the key to outflanking international behemoths

Stephen Givens

September 14, 2021 05:00 JST

Rakuten's logo on its headquarter building in Tokyo, pictured in February 2010: a path to recovery is not obvious. (Photo by Rie Ishii)

Stephen Givens is a corporate lawyer based in Tokyo.

Read Next

Most wanted: SoftBank enlists ex-Mossad chief as investment adviser

Most wanted: SoftBank enlists ex-Mossad chief as investment adviser

The Nikkei View

Lessons can be learned from Southeast Asia's tech startups

Lessons can be learned from Southeast Asia's tech startups

Telecommunication

Rakuten logs $590m half-year loss on heavy telecom spending

Rakuten logs $590m half-year loss on heavy telecom spending

Yahoo Japan to slash 40% of its Tokyo office space

Yahoo Japan to slash 40% of its Tokyo office space

Ready for their close-up, Gen Z men in Japan snap up cosmetics

Ready for their close-up, Gen Z men in Japan snap up cosmetics

PayPay's path to a $14bn valuation

PayPay's path to a $14bn valuation

Latest on Opinion

Japan would be smart not to stoke resentment of foreigners

Japan would be smart not to stoke resentment of foreigners

The BOJ must define a strategy for its ETF holdings -- not just its sales

The BOJ must define a strategy for its ETF holdings -- not just its sales

Trump should stay the course on China

Trump should stay the course on China

Sponsored Content