Rakuten Shareholder Benefit

Around three weeks ago, I reached out to Rakuten’s shareholder relations department to inquire about the status of my request. The representative informed me that it was in the queue, but they were overwhelmed with requests, causing delays in responding.

When I initially submitted my request, I was assured they would call back once the delivery arrangement was made. However, three weeks had gone by without any contact, so I called again.

During the call, I expressed my frustration over the lack of updates and the unfulfilled promise of a callback. I voiced my concern that they might not proceed with my request, assuming shareholders would eventually forget about it or abandon their requests, since the executives in charge considered minority shareholders insignificant. It seemed to me that their priority was solely focused on increasing the number of new Rakuten Mobile users, which they could achieve by fulfilling shareholder requests in exchange for our troubles. After all, the majority of the stock is owned by their CEO, Mr. Mikitani, and his family, so the executives had little incentive to care about minority shareholders. They were likely content with the increased user numbers and the applause from Mikitani.

The representative apologized and insisted that my request was being processed and still in the queue. When I asked what she planned to do next, she replied that she would escalate my concerns to her supervisor. A week after our conversation, I received a SIM card, and today, I noticed an announcement on the department’s webpage, dated the same day as my call, addressing the delay with an apology. It became evident that she had promptly issued the announcement and expedited the delivery.