Problem Child Company - Senior Data Scientist Rakuten Employee Review

1.0
14 May 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Free lunch, some smart engineers and smart people >Job Security - you can't get fired in japanese company >after u know how the system works, just sit back and chill and enjoy the show. Early Retirement > Good place to retire and if you don't want to think anymore >Company culture rewards mediocrity and low performance.

Cons

There's alot of great feedback out there from previous and current employees and paints an accurate picture of what it is like to work here. I encourage you to read "Black hole for your career." The PR is great for this company and can rival North Korea propaganda. they wrap the be a "global company" but at it's core is a 1990s Japanese IT company. when you join every monday is Miki's church where you have to listen to him talk about how he's so great and how he's going to beat the competition. it's brainwashing. Hiring Process: (Relatively easy but unclear process) you are forced to read (and sometimes purchase) 2 of the CEOs books and write a book report telling why it is great. HR already looking to see if you fit the mold of a Rakuten drone. The hiring process is not so clear HR sometimes has alot of power, sometimes not. it depends on the situation and department. If you're able to speak alot of buzzwords and talk about innovation and contributions to society maybe you'll be in. If you want to get here, sometimes use an agent. they have connections with HR. >Englishization is a failure. even they have high scoring TOEIC folks the english is horrible. you should learn to speak Japanese >Innovation is fake. look at many of the websites like Ichiba and Travel. Still stuck in the 1990s. (as of 05-2018). >Most of management cannot make a decision because of so many layers of confusion from the CEO to their own peers >If you want to do a good job on a project, usually your department head and so-called managers will steal your project and kick you to the side and take credit. it's better not to do a good job. >I feel sorry for the younger engineers. many of these kids have potential but have no mentorship to help them grow.

Explore other reviews about Rakuten

5.0
25 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Rakuten Rewards has great life balance. Too bad the economy was getting rocked.

Cons

Don't really have any cons. I understand that the market's been hard so had to downsize the force, so that was kinda challenging. Hopefully AI will increase everyone's output.

3.0
28 Jan 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The company offers great benefits and perks, and the overall work culture can be fun and social. When I first joined, it felt like a positive place to work and a good environment to learn. It’s a solid company to start your career, especially if you’re early on and want exposure to the role.

Cons

While the experience started off strong, there was very little room for growth long term. Opportunities were not distributed equally across the team, and favoritism was noticeable at times. The same individuals were consistently praised for simply doing their jobs, while others’ contributions were rarely acknowledged. The team culture could feel very cliquey, and if you weren’t part of the “favorites,” it was difficult to be recognized or considered for new opportunities. Although leadership often spoke about internal growth and mobility, in reality those opportunities felt extremely limited. Once you’re placed on a team, it’s very hard to move into something new or grow beyond that role. This is a good place to start your career and gain experience, but not a place I would recommend staying long term. If you’re looking for growth, development, and mobility within the company, you may find yourself feeling stuck.

3
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