Who owns Rakuten Books?
Rakuten Books is owned by Rakuten (Japan, TSE: 4755).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Annual Securities Report ("Yukashoken-Hokokusho"), Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2025, Rakuten Group, Inc, 26 March 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Rakuten Group, Inc. reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇯🇵 Japan, Tokyo
- Origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- Category
- Internet & digital › Online commerce › Online retail
- Parent ticker
- TSE: 4755
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Rakuten Books
Rakuten Books is the group's online bookstore, selling physical books, magazines and other media directly rather than through the marketplace merchants that populate Rakuten Ichiba. It is operated by Rakuten Group, Inc. itself and is separate from the e-book business the group runs internationally under Rakuten Kobo, so the same group sells the printed and the digital book through two different brands.
Ownership timeline of Rakuten Books
Where Rakuten Books sits in Rakuten
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Rakuten ownership tree →
See the full Rakuten brand portfolio (12) →
Other brands owned by Rakuten
Rakuten controls 12 brands on Brandtree, 11 of them in internet & digital.
Also in internet & digital
Other brands in online retail, and who owns them
The 31 brands in online retail on Brandtree belong to 19 owners. The largest is Wayfair, with 6; Rakuten has 3.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| AllModern | Wayfair | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Época Cosméticos | Magalu | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| Amazon.com | Amazon | 🇺🇸 United States |
| eobuwie | MODIVO | 🇵🇱 Poland |
| Delio (Poland) | Żabka Group | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg |
| Freshippo | Alibaba | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong |
| Apohem | Axfood | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| Cargills Online | Cargills | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
About the owner: Rakuten
Rakuten is a publicly listed company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1997. Brandtree records 12 brands under its control, and it is listed as TSE: 4755.
Rakuten was founded in May 1997 as MDM Co., Ltd. with ¥10 million of capital, to build an online commerce server and run an internet shopping mall called Rakuten Ichiba. It was renamed Rakuten, Inc. in June 1999 and Rakuten Group, Inc. in April 2021, and its shares moved to the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in April 2022. The group reports three segments — Internet Services, FinTech and Mobile — and recorded revenue of ¥2,496,575 million and a net loss attributable to owners of ¥177,886 million for 2025, with 29,419 employees. Its head office is at 1-14-1 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo.
🇯🇵 Rakuten Books and other Japanese brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 437 brands that began in Japan. 21 of them (5%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Rakuten Books is not one of them.
- ABEMA — CyberAgent 🇯🇵
- Acquire — Kadokawa 🇯🇵
- Animal Crossing — Nintendo 🇯🇵
- Dragon Quest — Square Enix 🇯🇵
- Elden Ring — Bandai Namco 🇯🇵
- Ikyu.com — LY Corporation 🇯🇵
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Rakuten Books?
The parent company of Rakuten Books is Rakuten, a publicly listed company headquartered in Japan.
Is Rakuten Books Japanese?
Yes. Rakuten Books originated in Japan and its owner, Rakuten, is also headquartered in Japan.
Is Rakuten Books still owned by Rakuten?
Yes. As of 27 September 2026, Rakuten Books is still owned by Rakuten. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Annual Securities Report ("Yukashoken-Hokokusho"), Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2025 — Rakuten Group, Inc., Annual report, published 26 March 2026; retrieved 27 September 2026.
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