Rakuten : and Rakuten Medical Announce Response to Workplace COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

Tokyo, June 4 2021 - Rakuten Group, Inc. and Rakuten Medical Japan K.K. today announced that in response to the Japanese government's recently announced workplace vaccination initiative, it will begin to cooperate with a program to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to employees and their families who elect to receive the vaccine, targeted to rollout in stages from June 21. The program will aim to provide vaccinations in an efficient and safe manner, to prevent risk of infection, development of severe conditions or clusters and, ultimately, to contribute to the early achievement of herd immunity and resumption of economic activities.

Plans are in place to offer vaccination facilities first at the company's headquarters, Rakuten Crimson House, in Futako-Tamagawa, Tokyo, followed by rollout in stages to Rakuten's regional offices. Rakuten Group and Rakuten Medical Japan employees (including indirect hires) located in Japan and their families will be eligible for the program. Further, subject to conditions required by relevant regulatory bodies, Rakuten will also consider offering vaccinations free of charge to residents of the local communities around its offices in Japan.

To ensure that Japan's elderly population is vaccinated by the end of July, the Japanese government has set a target of one million vaccinations per day, but vaccinating the elderly will not be enough to end the COVID-19 pandemic. With the rapid spread of new strains of the virus and severe symptoms being experienced by young people, COVID-19 is proving a threat to people of every generation. In order to reach as many people across the country in the shortest time possible, it is essential to expand the establishment of vaccinations centers.

To support of the expansion of available vaccination facilities, Rakuten and Rakuten Medical Japan announced in May their collaboration with Kobe City and a number of medical institutions to establish and operate Japan's first mass vaccination model supported by industry, academia and government, offering up to 5,000 vaccinations per day at Noevir Stadium Kobe. The operational expertise gained through this effort, including Japan's first online pre-screening, will be applied in ongoing vaccination programs to ensure a safe and efficient rollout.