English As an Official Language: Rakuten's Case Study

Aside from the advertising bias, I found the story interesting.

It was a case study that a Japanese company, Rakuten which had been struggling to change itself to a global company.

According to the article, about two years ago, on Feb.

This summer, two and a half years after the a transition period, the official language will become English completely.

Almost all new employees could reach to the requirement.

The word 凄絶 means 'fierce' or 'life-and-death.'

In fact, it was a kind of a promotion to sell a magazine.

The feature of the latest issue of the magazine is about learning English learning.

It was a the case study that of a Japanese company, Rakuten, which had been struggling to change itself into a global company.

Rakuten is one of the biggest internet-related companies in Japan.

In addition, Rakuten also runs owns and operates credit cards, securities, travel agents and even a professional baseball team.

Usually, I ignore advertising advertisement e-mail messages but this morning I accidentally opened such a message and came across to the following article:

It was a case study that in which a Japanese company called Rakuten had been struggling to change itself into a global company.

All full-time employees will make have discussions in English at every meetings.

Even for casual conversations at the office, using English will be encouraged.

As for new employees, Rakuten asked them to get a score more greater than 700 this year and more greater than 650 last year before joining the company.

After joining the company they had not actually been working actually.

Almost all new employees could reached to the requirement.

Some other companies in Japan also became serious about English.

Usually I ignore e-mail advertisements, but this morning I accidentally opened such a message and came across to the following article:

The word 凄絶 means 'fierce' or 'life-and-death'. [British syntax rules place periods outside of quotations. I highly recommend the British style.]

In fact, it was a kind of a promotion to sell a magazine.

The featured topic of the latest issue of the magazine is about English learning.

Aside from the advertising bias, I found (that) the story was interesting. [Your grammar is correct, but difficult to understand, because of "that抜き".]

It was a case study of a Japanese company, Rakuten, that had been struggling to change itself into a global company.

Rakuten is one of the biggest internet related companies in Japan.

It also manages a credit card business, securities business, travel agents, and even a professional baseball team.

According to the article, about two years ago, on Feb.

1, 2010, Hiroshi Mikitani, founder and CEO of Rakuten, greeted all employees at a morning meeting saying "Good morning" in English.

This summer, after a two and a half year transition period, the official language will become English completely.

All full-time employees will have discussions in English at every meeting.

Even for casual conversations at the office, using English will be encouraged.

Rakuten decided TOEIC score requirements for each position:

In order to be promoted to a position, an employee must satisfy the position's requirement.

As for new employees, Rakuten asked them to get a score greater than 700 this year and to have gotten a score greater than 650 in the year prior to joining the company.

Among them, over one hundred employees could not satisfy the requirements at the entrance.

Instead they had been studying English as their work until getting the required score.

Almost all new employees achieved the requirement.

Some other companies in Japan also have become serious about English.

Needless to say, an employee's English skill is not a sufficient condition, but it will have to be a necessary condition in the near future.

Usually I ignore emails trying sell me something but this morning I accidentally opened one such message and came across to the following article:

OR: Its opening gambit consisted of a sensational word, 凄絶, which means "fierce" or "'life-and-death", followed by an exclamation mark.

The word 凄絶 means 'fierce' or 'life-and-death'.

Clearly, the article was not serious.

In fact, it was trying to sell a particular magazine.

The feature article of its latest issue of the magazine was about English learning in Japan.

In order to drum up business, the article tried to create a sense of crisis concerning Japanese people's English skills.

Advertising aside, I found the story was interesting.

It was a case study of the Japanese company, Rakuten, which has been struggling to make/change/transform itself into a global company.

It runs an internet shopping site, Rakuten Ichiba.

It also runs credit card, securities and travel agent businesses, even a professional baseball team.

Currently its business is mainly in Japan but it wants to expand into other countries.

According to the article, about two years ago, on February 1st, 2010, (Note: in an article such as this, you would not normally abbreviate "February")

Hiroshi Mikitani, the founder and CEO of Rakuten greeted all employees at a morning meeting with the words "Good morning" in English.

heralding the moment that Rakten started to change its official language from Japanese to English.

This summer, after a two and half year transition period, the official language will finally be English completely.

All full-time employees will have to speak in English at every meetings.

Even for casual office conversations, English will be encouraged.

Rakuten has set madatory minimum TOEIC scores for each position:

board members 800

senior managers 750

mid-level managers 700

junior managers 650

assistant managers 600

other employees 600

In order to be promoted, existing/current employees must get the minimum required TOEIC score.

As for prospective employees wishing to join the company, this year they will be required to score over 700 as compared with last year's minimum of over 650.

Among them, were over a hundred employees who were not able to initially satisfy the entry requirements.

After joining the company, they had to study English exclusively until they were able to get the required score.

Instead they had been studying English as their work until getting requirement scores.

Apparently, almost all the new employees were able meet this requirement/condition.

Personally, I'm not sure whether Rakuten's strategy is effective or not.

But, Rakuten is serious.

Recently, some other companies in Japan have also become similarily serious about English.

Needless to say, an employee's English skill is not enough in itself, but it will soon be an essential prerequisite.

Usually I ignore spam emails but this morning I accidentally opened such a message and came across to the following article:

In order to sell the latest issue, the article was going to cultivate a sense of crisis about Japanese people's English skills.

Aside from the advertising bias, I found the story (to be) interesting.

All full-time employees will have discussions in English at all of the meetings.

After joining the company they had not been doing their normal work.