Rakuten Travel Rolls Out Car Rental Service for International Visitors to Japan

• Rakuten Group, Inc.

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Tokyo, April 17, 2024 - Rakuten Group Inc. today announced that its travel reservation service Rakuten Travel, a leading online travel agency in Japan, has begun offering its car rental reservation service for visitors to Japan in multiple languages starting today. The service now supports customers using English, Korean and Traditional Chinese (Taiwan), in addition to Japanese.

Each reservation page features a user-friendly interface with strategically placed icons, enabling effortless navigation from car search to booking completion. At launch, approximately 3,000 stores are now available from many major rental car companies across Japan, with further stores to be added soon.

Intuitive design featuring search functionality and icons
Customers can search for available rental cars from the reservation page, simply by entering the departure and return locations along with the desired use dates. When inputting airport names, station names, or city names, the system suggests nearby car rental stores, catering to travelers utilizing connecting flights or trains, or those unfamiliar with their destination's geography. Moreover, users can also refine their search by specifying vehicle conditions and desired type, aided by icons showing the car type and relative size.

Search results display the car and manufacturer names with rental options accompanied by pictograms, for seamless navigation from search to booking completion.

One Rakuten Travel interface for rental car operators
Rental car operators can manage sales and vehicle inventory using the same management interface as the Japanese service currently offered on Rakuten Travel. This allows for bulk management of vehicles and sales channels, helping rental car operators expand sales without additional overhead. Furthermore, an automatic translation function is available for vehicle sales settings. Rental car operators and sales outlets facing labor shortages will be able to meet the demand from inbound tourists without added burden by leveraging Rakuten Travel's existing sales channels.

The annual number of international visitors to Japan surpassed 25 million in 2023^*1, rapidly approaching the pre-pandemic figure of around 32 million visitors in 2019^*2. Rakuten Travel aims to bolster tourism in rural areas and revitalize Japan's local economies by providing a car rental reservation service that inbound tourists can use with confidence, thereby enhancing transportation options in both urban and rural areas.

Rakuten Travel is committed to caring for the diverse needs of both domestic and international travelers by offering a wide range of travel booking services, encompassing both accommodation and transport options.

Service overview
Official site: https://travel.rakuten.com/cars/
Supported languages: English, Korean, Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)
Number of stores: Approx. 3,000
Service provision: Web browser only
Payment method: Payment at store or online via credit card
*As of service launch, Rakuten Points cannot be used.

Notes
*1 From Japan National Tourism Organization "Number of international visitors to Japan (December 2023 and annual estimate)"
*2 From Japan National Tourism Organization "Number of international visitors to Japan (December 2019 and annual estimate)"

About Rakuten Travel
Rakuten Travel is a leading online travel agency in Japan. Launched in 2001, the service offers Japan's broadest selection of local travel accommodation listings. With 14 offices in various countries and regions, Rakuten Travel is expanding its international operations and offers support in eight languages: English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese (Taiwan), Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong), Korean, Thai and Indonesian. It is part of the Rakuten Group, which operates more than 70 businesses spanning e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to 1.8 billion members around the world. For more information visit https://travel.rakuten.com.