Indeed. Having recently sat in an Executive style naming competition meeting, I can confirm the state of multinational corporate decisions involving brands and names is so intensely bureaucratic and complex that the rational behind the decision is far removed from common sense. I imagine the process involved dozens of executives and at least two outsourced firms, marketing managers, and brand evangelists. Charts were produced and powerpoints created, showing naming relevance and cultural sensitivities. SEO experts formulated brand uniqueness prospects for virality and search, self declared linguists gauged locality based pronunciation effectiveness. Translators estimated ease of use and consistencies globally. In the end its obvious to them that they made the correct decision.
More like 'Rakuten means “positive spirit.” The name Rakuten Ichiba literally means a “market of positive spirit,” where shopping is entertainment. You see?'
Of course he made the right decision! The CEO is Harvard Business School educated, "fluent" in English [1], and has mandated that all company meetings shall be conducted in English (even in Japan) [2]. Out of touch you say? Nonsense!</sarcasm>
I think part of the problem is that most 日本人 are 恥ずかしい about their 英語能力. So when someone isn't, they don't stop to think that it might simply be braggadocio.
