I applied in-person. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Rakuten (Boston, MA) in Dec 2014
Interview
Meet at Career Fair, then Skype, one more Japanese language test and one more interview. There HR people and seniors are very nice at the interview. Not a typical Japanese company with really energetic people. Although not a very good reputation, but definitely is expanding its business.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Briefly questions based on your resume, why rakuten, your goal in five years.