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74-527: Mikitani was born in 1965 and raised in Kobe , Hyōgo Prefecture , Japan. His father Ryōichi Mikitani served as Chairman of Japan Society Of Monetary Economics and was a professor at Kobe University . His mother Setsuko was a graduate of Kobe University and worked for a trading company; she had attended elementary school in New York . Through his paternal grandmother, he claims descent from Honda Tadakatsu , one of

148-596: A board member). Rakuten has business units including travel, e-books, credit cards, online shopping, banking and the Rakuten Golden Eagles baseball team. By 2017, Rakuten had over 14,000 employees, over 42,000 shops on its e-commerce sites, and sales of nearly US$ 6 billion, with over 100 million members in Japan. Beginning in March 2010, Mikitani implemented a plan that he calls "Englishnization", making English

222-484: A hat-trick in the match. The club than managed to have a good run in the competition all the way until the semi-finals facing against eventual winners Korean Ulsan Hyundai however, Vissel was knocked out by the Korean club losing 2–1 in extra time after conceding an unfortunate penalty kick. In 2021, Vissel achieved an historic third place in the table, thus qualifying for the 2022 AFC Champions League yet again in which

296-590: A league below J.League, and the supermarket chain Daiei was slated as the club's primary investor. However, the economic downturn following the Great Hanshin earthquake forced Daiei to pull out and the city of Kobe became responsible for operating the club. Despite finishing 2nd in the JFL in 1996, Vissel was promoted to the J.League (the champions, Honda FC , refused to abandon their corporate ownership and become

370-592: A player strike. Mikitani was approached by league officials about putting together an expansion team in Sendai , which would be named the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles . Mikitani rebuilt, restored and renovated the stadium in Sendai, prior to the team's inaugural season in 2005. The Golden Eagles won the 2013 Japan Series , two years after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Sendai and

444-437: A professional club) and began play in the top division of Japanese football in 1997. However, due to mismanagement, including the inability to secure investors and sponsors, Vissel was unable to contend for the league title. In December, 2003, mounting financial losses forced the club to file for bankruptcy protection . In January 2004, Vissel was sold to Crimson Group, parent company of online merchant Rakuten , whose president

518-603: A reclaimed island south of Port Island , also offers mostly domestic and charter flights, while Kansai International Airport in Osaka mainly serves international flights in the area. The JR West Sanyō Shinkansen stops at Shin-Kobe Station . Sannomiya Station is the main commuter hub in Kobe, serving as the transfer point for major intercity rail services: the JR Kobe Line connects Kobe to Osaka and Himeji , while both

592-561: A rich architectural heritage dating back to the Meiji era . While the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake diminished some of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth-busiest container port . Companies headquartered in Kobe include ASICS , Kawasaki Heavy Industries , and Kobe Steel , while over 100 international corporations have their Asian or Japanese headquarters in the city, including Eli Lilly and Company , Procter & Gamble , Boehringer Ingelheim , and Nestlé . The city

666-747: A rival body. On June 1, 2012, the Japanese Association of New Economy (JANE) was launched in Tokyo. It was a renaming of the "Japan e-business association", which had been established in February 2010 to open it to non-online businesses. Mikitani currently serves as the Representative Director of JANE. On February 27, 2022, Mikitani announced ¥1 billion ($ 8.7 million) donation to the Ukrainian government to support it during

740-681: A small online marketplace with 13 shops and 6 employees, and has since grown into "an e-commerce giant". In 2010, Mikitani changed Rakuten's focus, as the company began expanding outside Japan, with acquisitions of overseas e-commerce sites including Buy.com of the US (now Rakuten.com ), PriceMinister of France, and continuing with companies including Canadian e-book service Kobo (now Rakuten Kobo ), US cashback site Ebates (now Rakuten Rewards), and Cyprus-based messaging app Viber (now Rakuten Viber ), and minority stakes in online scrapbooking site Pinterest and ride-hailing app Lyft (where Mikitani serves as

814-719: Is Noevir Stadium Kobe , in Hyōgo-ku , though some home matches are played at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Suma-ku . The club was founded in 1966 as the semi-professional Kawasaki Steel Soccer Club in Kurashiki , Okayama Prefecture . It was first promoted to the Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1986, and stayed there until the JSL folded in 1992. As their performance in the old second tier had been in

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888-648: Is Kobe native Hiroshi Mikitani . Vissel's first signing under the Mikitani regime, İlhan Mansız , who was acquired partly to capitalize on his popularity during the 2002 FIFA World Cup hosted in Korea and Japan, but the Turkish forward played just three matches before leaving the team because of a knee injury. At the time of the purchase, Mikitani alienated supporters by changing the team uniform colours from black and white stripes to crimson , after his Crimson Group and

962-473: Is a combination of the words "victory" and "vessel", in recognition of Kobe's history as a port city. (Owing to its importance to the city of Kobe, Kawasaki Heavy Industries , parent company of former team patron Kawasaki Steel, remains a Vissel Kobe sponsor. Kawasaki Steel was eventually sold off to become part of JFE Holdings .) Vissel Kobe began play in 1994 in the Japan Football League ,

1036-595: Is also home to 17 Japanese language schools for international students, including the international training group Lexis Japan. International schools serve both long-term foreign residents and expatriates living in Kobe and the Kansai region. The schools offer instruction in English, German , Chinese , and Korean . There are three English-language international schools: Canadian Academy , Marist Brothers International School , and St. Michael's International School. Kobe

1110-637: Is located about 35 km (22 mi) west of Osaka and 70 km (43 mi) southwest of Kyoto. The earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki , which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201. For most of its history, the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa period , when the port was controlled directly by

1184-595: Is most famous for its Kobe beef (which is raised in the surrounding Hyōgo Prefecture) and Arima Onsen (hot springs). Notable buildings include the Ikuta Shrine as well as the Kobe Port Tower . Nearby mountains such as Mount Rokkō and Mount Maya overlook the city. The city is widely associated with cosmopolitanism and fashion, encapsulated in the Japanese saying, "If you can't go to Paris, go to Kobe." The biannual fashion event Kobe Fashion Week, featuring

1258-611: Is significantly higher in summer than in winter, though on the whole lower than most parts of Honshū, and there is no significant snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kobe is 17.0 °C (62.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,277.8 mm (50.31 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 28.6 °C (83.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 6.2 °C (43.2 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Kobe

1332-541: Is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture , Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan 's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama . It is located in the Kansai region , which makes up the southern side of the main island of Honshū , on the north shore of Osaka Bay . It is part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto . The Kobe city centre

1406-463: Is the point of origin and namesake of Kobe beef , the home of Kobe University , and the site of one of Japan's most famous hot spring resorts, Arima Onsen . Tools found in western Kobe demonstrate the area was populated at least from the Jōmon period . The natural geography of the area, particularly of Wada Cape in Hyōgo-ku , led to the development of a port, which would remain the economic center of

1480-565: Is the site of Japan's first golf course, Kobe Golf Club , established by Arthur Hesketh Groom in 1903, and Japan's first mosque , Kobe Mosque , built in 1935. The city hosts the Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club , founded in 1870 by Alexander Cameron Sim , and a prominent foreign cemetery . A number of Western-style residences – ijinkan ( 異人館 ) – from the 19th century still stand in Kitano and elsewhere in Kobe. Museums include

1554-707: Is the site of a number of research institutes, such as the RIKEN Kobe Institute Center for developmental biology and medical imaging techniques, and Center for Computational Science (R-CCS, home of the Fugaku supercomputer ), the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) Advanced ICT Research Institute, the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, and

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1628-433: Is to never disclose whether any given warship is carrying nuclear weapons. This nonproliferation policy has been termed the " Kobe formula ". On January 17, 1995, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred at 5:46 am JST near the city. About 6,434 people in the city were killed, 212,443 were made homeless, and large parts of the port facilities and other parts of the city were destroyed. The earthquake destroyed portions of

1702-774: The Chūgoku Expressway (Osaka – Yamaguchi). The Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway runs from Kobe to Naruto via Awaji Island and includes the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge , the longest suspension bridge in the world. The Port of Kobe is one of Japan's busiest container ports. Sub Area Activity Hanshin of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces provides monitoring across Osaka Bay and Harima Sea . The city of Kobe directly administers 169 elementary and 81 middle schools, with enrollments of approximately 80,200 and 36,000 students, respectively. If

1776-586: The Edo period , the eastern parts of present-day Kobe came under the jurisdiction of the Amagasaki Domain and the western parts under that of the Akashi Domain , while the center was controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate . It was not until the abolition of the han system in 1871 and the establishment of the current prefecture system that the area became politically distinct. Hyōgo Port

1850-567: The Four Heavenly Kings of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu . His grandmother was born to a noble family which had fallen on hard times, and raised Mikitani's father as a single mother while running a tobacco store. His grandfather was a businessman active in New York, and was a co-founder of Minolta . Ryōichi was Japan's first Fulbright Scholar to the US and taught for two years at Yale University ; during that time, from 1972 to 1974,

1924-740: The Hankyū Kobe Line and the Hanshin Main Line run from Kobe to Umeda Station in Osaka. Sanyō Electric Railway trains from Himeji reach Sannomiya via the Kōbe Rapid Transit Railway . Kōbe Electric Railway runs north to Sanda and Arima Onsen . Kobe Municipal Subway provides connections to Shin-Osaka and Sannomiya stations from Kobe's western and eastern suburbs. Additionally, Kobe New Transit runs two lines serving Kobe Airport and Rokko Island . Over Mount Rokkō ,

1998-619: The Hanshin Expressway , an elevated freeway that dramatically toppled over. In Japan, this earthquake is known as the Great Hanshin earthquake (or the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake). To commemorate Kobe's recovery from it, the city holds an event every December called the Luminarie , where the city center is decorated with illuminated metal archways. The Port of Kobe was Japan's busiest port and one of Asia's top ports until

2072-603: The Hanshin Industrial Region . Kobe is the busiest container port in the region, surpassing even Osaka , and the fourth-busiest in Japan. As of 2004 , the city's total real GDP was ¥6.3 trillion, which amounts to thirty-four percent of the GDP for Hyōgo Prefecture and approximately eight percent for the whole Kansai region . Per capita income for the year was approximately ¥2.7 million. Broken down by sector , about one percent of those employed work in

2146-474: The Kobe City Museum and Museum of Literature . The city headquarters the professional wrestling promotion Dragongate , established in 2004 as an offshoot of Último Dragón 's original Toryumon system. The dialect spoken in Kobe is called Kobe-ben , a sub-dialect of Kansai dialect . Kobe hosted the 1985 Summer Universiade as well as the 1991 Men's Asian Basketball Championship , which

2220-511: The Kobe Collection , is held in Kobe. The jazz festival "Kobe Jazz Street" has been held every October at jazz clubs and hotels since 1981. It also hosts both a Festival, as well as a statue of Elvis Presley , the unveiling of which was heralded by the presence of former Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi . Kobe is well known in Japan as being a city for the affluent, as many high-end stores and mansions line its streets. Kobe

2294-518: The Prince Takamado U-18 Premier League , the top-flight league for U-18 clubs in the country. Only the registered players for the competition will be displayed. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Club officials for 2024. Total (as of 2024): 26 seasons in the top tier, 11 seasons in the second tier, 2 seasons in

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2368-799: The Russian invasion . In 2012, Mikitani was awarded the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, one of the school's highest honors. He was also named to Prime Minister Shinzō Abe 's Industrial Competitiveness Council. In 2014, Mikitani was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour by the French government. In 2017, Mikitani was awarded the Order of Merit of

2442-478: The Tokugawa shogunate . Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from Kanbe ( 神戸 , an archaic title for supporters of the city's Ikuta Shrine ) . Kobe became one of Japan's designated cities in 1956. Kobe was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the 1853 end of the policy of seclusion and has retained its cosmopolitan character ever since with

2516-627: The capital of Japan in 1180, when Taira no Kiyomori moved his grandson Emperor Antoku to Fukuhara-kyō in present-day Hyōgo-ku. The Emperor returned to Kyoto after about five months. Shortly thereafter in 1184, the Taira fortress in Hyōgo-ku and the nearby Ikuta Shrine became the sites of the Genpei War battle of Ichi-no-Tani between the Taira and Minamoto clans . The Minamoto prevailed, pushing

2590-695: The confectionery manufacturers Konigs-Krone and Morozoff Ltd. , Sun Television Japan and UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. There are over 100 international corporations that have their East Asian or Japanese headquarters in Kobe. Of these, twenty-four are from China, eighteen from the United States, and nine from Switzerland. Some prominent corporations include Eli Lilly and Company , Nestlé , Procter & Gamble , Tempur-Pedic , Boehringer-Ingelheim , and Toys "R" Us . In 2018, April, Swift Engineering USA, an American aerospace engineering firm established their joint venture in Kobe called Swift Xi Inc. Kobe

2664-498: The e-commerce company MDM, Inc. with three co-founders and US$ 250,000 of their own money, launching the online marketplace Rakuten Ichiba in Japan on May 1, 1997. The company was renamed Rakuten, Inc. in 1999, and Mikitani took it public on the JASDAQ in 2000. In founding the company, Mikitani envisioned an online marketplace focusing on the exchange between buyers and sellers, as a hybrid between eBay and Amazon.com . It started as

2738-603: The primary sector (agriculture, fishing and mining), twenty-one percent work in the secondary sector (manufacturing and industry), and seventy-eight percent work in the service sector . The value of manufactured goods produced and exported from Kobe for 2004 was ¥2.5 trillion. The four largest sectors in terms of value of goods produced are small appliances, food products, transportation equipment, and communication equipment making up over fifty percent of Kobe's manufactured goods. In terms of numbers of employees, food products, small appliances, and transportation equipment make up

2812-684: The 2014 season. On 6 December 2014, Rakuten Inc. bought the team from the Crimson Group. In 2017, Vissel signed 2014 FIFA World Cup winner Lukas Podolski . He was the first prominent international player Vissel had been able to sign since Michael Laudrup in 1996. Shortly after, in May 2018, Vissel signed another World Cup winner, Andrés Iniesta , from FC Barcelona . In December 2018 Vissel Kobe managed to sign also David Villa from New York City . The Spanish striker scored 13 goals in 28 games. Alongside Sergi Samper and Andrés Iniesta , Villa

2886-769: The Asian Disaster Reduction Center. International organizations include the WHO Centre for Health Development , an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization . The Consulate-General of Panama in Kobe is located on the eighth floor of the Moriyama Building in Chūō-ku, Kobe . Itami Airport , in nearby Itami , serves primarily domestic flights throughout Japan, Kobe Airport , built on

2960-524: The Fireflies and the book by Akiyuki Nosaka on which the film was based. It also features in the motion picture A Boy Called H . Following continuous pressure from citizens, on March 18, 1975, the Kobe City Council passed an ordinance banning vessels carrying nuclear weapons from Kobe Port. This effectively prevented any U.S. warships from entering the port, because U.S. policy

3034-786: The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . and the 2017 Spain-Japan Business Contribution Award by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce . On 10 April 2024, Mikitani was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in honor of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House . Mikitani and his wife Haruko were married in 1993. They have two children. Kobe Kobe ( / ˈ k oʊ b eɪ / KOH -bay ; Japanese : 神戸 , romanized :  Kōbe , pronounced [koꜜːbe] ), officially Kobe City ( 神戸市 , Kōbe-shi ) ,

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3108-465: The Great Hanshin earthquake. Kobe has since dropped to fourth in Japan and, as of 2012, was the 49th- busiest container port worldwide . Wedged between the coast and the mountains, the city of Kobe is long and narrow. To the east is the city of Ashiya , while the city of Akashi lies to its west. Other adjacent cities include Takarazuka and Nishinomiya to the east and Sanda and Miki to

3182-497: The Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, twenty-five high schools are run privately within the city. The total enrollment for high schools in 2006 was 43,400. Kobe is home to eighteen public and private universities, including Kobe University , Kobe Institute of Computing and Konan University , and eight junior colleges . Students enrolled for 2006 reached 67,000 and 4,100, respectively. Kobe

3256-505: The Taira further. As the port grew during the Kamakura period , it became an important hub for trade with China and other countries. In the 13th century, the city came to be known by the name Hyōgo Port ( 兵庫津 , Hyōgo-tsu ) . During this time, Hyōgo Port, along with northern Osaka, composed the province of Settsu (most of today's Kobe belonged to Settsu except Nishi Ward and Tarumi Ward , which belonged to Harima ). Later, during

3330-562: The Tōhoku region. In 2017, Mikitani partnered with his friend FC Barcelona player Gerard Piqué to co-found Kosmos Holding. A holding company and investment group to invest in companies based in the sports, media, and entertainment industries. In 2018, Kosmos Holding acquired the Davis Cup Tennis property, and Spanish Futbol Club FC Andorra . Mikitani had joined Keidanren , the Japanese business federation in 2004. In June 2011, in

3404-400: The West and many foreign residences from the period remain in Kobe's Kitano area . Kobe, as it is known today, was founded on April 1, 1889, and was designated on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance. The history of the city is closely tied to that of the Ikuta Shrine, and the name "Kobe" derives from kamube ( 神戸 , later kanbe ) , an archaic name for those who supported

3478-446: The aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster , he quit the federation, announcing his decision via Twitter before sending in his formal letter of resignation, saying it was no longer the same organization he had joined, and he disagreed with its support for continued reliance on the nuclear industry for electricity, and its reluctance to carry out reforms that could help Japan compete internationally. He subsequently pondered setting up

3552-424: The bottom nine clubs, they were put into the Japan Football League Division 2 (new third tier overall in the Japanese football league system ) and stayed there until the tiers were reunited into a single second tier for 1994. In 1995, the city of Kobe reached an agreement with Kawasaki Steel , the parent company, to move the club to Kobe and compete for a spot in the professional J.League as Vissel Kobe . Vissel

3626-517: The city from east to west. The main transport hub is Sannomiya Station , with the eponymous Kobe Station located to the west and the Shinkansen Shin-Kobe Station to the north. Mount Rokkō overlooks Kobe at an elevation of 931 m (3,054 ft). During autumn, it is famous for the rich change in colors of its forests . Kobe has nine wards ( ku ): per km2 Kobe has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ) with hot summers and cool to cold winters. Precipitation

3700-411: The city has two funicular lines and three aerial lifts as well, namely Maya Cablecar , Rokkō Cable Line , Rokkō Arima Ropeway , Maya Ropeway , and Shin-Kobe Ropeway . Kobe is a transportation hub for a number of expressways , including the Meishin Expressway ( Nagoya – Kobe) and the Hanshin Expressway (Osaka – Kobe). Other expressways include the Sanyō Expressway (Kobe – Yamaguchi ) and

3774-411: The city's four private elementary schools and fourteen private middle schools are included, these figures jump to a total 82,000 elementary school students and 42,300 junior high students enrolled for the 2006 school year. Kobe also directly controls six of the city's twenty-five full-time public high schools including Fukiai High School and Rokkō Island High School. The remainder are administered by

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3848-406: The city. Some of the earliest written documents mentioning the region include the Nihon Shoki , which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201. During the Nara and Heian periods , the port was known by the name Ōwada Anchorage ( Ōwada-no-tomari ) and was one of the ports from which imperial embassies to China were dispatched. The city was briefly

3922-480: The club had another good run in the campaign before losing to Korean Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3–1 in the quarter-finals. On 3 September 2023, Vissel signed former Spanish international midfielder, Juan Mata but, while the players and the fans benefited from his presence (players said he was amazing to train with, fans loved seeing him, he again raised the profile of the club) injuries kept him from playing much at all in meaningful games. On 25 November 2023, Vissel Kobe

3996-668: The clubs will also extend to first team level, with the exchange of technical knowledge and coaching methodology together with collaboration in the areas of performance, scouting & recruitment, data analysis and overall squad management". Since 2003, the home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe . The stadium has a capacity of 30,132. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The main U-18 team of Vissel Kobe currently plays in

4070-439: The colour of his alma mater, Harvard Business School . The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles , a baseball team also owned by Rakuten but based in Sendai and Rakuten Monkeys , a baseball team in Taoyuan, Taiwan , wear the same colours. Vissel finished 11th in the league in 2004, the same position as the previous year, and finished 18th and last place in 2005, resulting in relegation from J.League Division 1, or J1, to J2. During

4144-410: The destruction caused by the devastating 1995 Kobe earthquake made him realize he wanted to help revitalize Japan’s economy, leading to his resignation from banking and decision to start his own business. In 1996, Mikitani began venturing into the high technology business and started looking at various business models, and decided to launch an online shopping mall. On February 7, 1997, Mikitani founded

4218-545: The family lived in New Haven, Connecticut . His sister Ikuko is a physician (MD in Osaka University ), and his brother Kenichi is a professor of biology at the University of Tokyo . Mikitani attended Hitotsubashi University , graduating in 1988 with a degree in commerce. Mikitani worked at the Industrial Bank of Japan (now part of Mizuho Corporate Bank ) from 1988 to 1996, with a break from 1991 to 1993 to attend Harvard Business School . He left to start his own consulting group, called Crimson Group. Mikitani has stated that

4292-476: The international network and player development pipeline which is part of this exciting step forward for both clubs, Villa and Vissel are working to create a bilateral development framework for players and staff which will enhance youth development, alongside the cooperative sharing of ideas, techniques and best practice. The partnership looks to further open up pathways for talented Japanese players to play in Europe and, ultimately, at Aston Villa. This synergy between

4366-400: The newly revamp 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite tournament. On 23 of November 2024, Vissel won the second Emperor's Cup of the club history, after a victory over they regional rivals Gamba Osaka in the Kansai Derby . On 19 October 2023, English Premier League club, Aston Villa announced a collaborative partnership with Vissel Kobe - so said the press release: "further strengthening

4440-465: The north. The landmark of the port area is the red steel Port Tower . A ferris wheel sits in nearby Harborland , a notable tourist promenade . Two artificial islands, Port Island and Rokkō Island , have been constructed to give the city room to expand. Away from the seaside at the heart of Kobe lie the Motomachi and Sannomiya districts, as well as Kobe's Chinatown , Nankin-machi , all well-known retail areas. A multitude of train lines cross

4514-403: The population are between the ages of 0 and 14, sixty-seven percent are between 15 and 64, and twenty percent are over the age of 65. Approximately 44,000 registered foreign nationals live in Kobe. The four most common nationalities are Korean (22,237), Chinese (12,516), Vietnamese (1,301), and American (1,280). The Port of Kobe is both an important port and manufacturing center within

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4588-418: The primary language of Rakuten within two years. While the plan was dismissed as "stupid" by Honda president Takanobu Ito in 2010, Mikitani believes that "English is not an advantage anymore – it is a requirement." He considers the Japanese company's fluency in English, with meetings and reporting done in English, to be a strong advantage for the company globally. In 2011, Mikitani's Englishnization initiative

4662-428: The shrine. During World War II , Kobe was lightly bombed in the Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942, along with Tokyo and a few other cities. Eventually, it was bombed again with incendiary bombs by B-29 Superfortress bombers on March 16 and 17, 1945 , causing the death of 8,841 residents and the destruction of 21% of Kobe's urban area . This incident inspired the well-known Studio Ghibli film Grave of

4736-575: The three largest sectors. The GDP in Kobe Metropolitan Employment Area (2.4 million people) is US$ 96.0 billion in 2010. Japanese companies which have their headquarters in Kobe include ASICS , a shoe manufacturer; Daiei , a department store chain; Kawasaki Heavy Industries , Kawasaki Shipbuilding Co. , Kinki Sharyo , Mitsubishi Motors , Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (ship manufacturer), Mitsubishi Electric , Kobe Steel , Sumitomo Rubber Industries , Sysmex Corporation (medical devices manufacturer) and TOA Corporation . Other companies include

4810-562: The two-year span, Vissel had five different head coaches. 2006 was Vissel's first season in J2 after nine years in the top division of soccer in Japan. They finished 3rd in the 2006 season and returned to J1 after beating Avispa Fukuoka in the promotion/relegation play-offs . During the period of 2007 to 2011 Vissel finished in the bottom half of the table each year. In 2012 they finished 16th, third from last, and were again relegated to J2. In 2013, Vissel finished in second place, 4 points behind Gamba Osaka , which secured their return to J1 for

4884-492: Was 38.8 °C (101.8 °F) on August 5, 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) on February 27, 1981. As of September 2007, Kobe had an estimated population of 1,530,295 making up 658,876 households . This was an increase of 1,347 persons or approximately 0.1% over the previous year. The population density was approximately 2,768 persons per square kilometre, while there are about 90.2 males to every 100 females. About thirteen percent of

4958-548: Was also Spanish striker David Villa 's last professional match. Vissel also qualified for the 2020 AFC Champions League for the first time. On 8 February 2020, Vissel beat Yokohama F. Marinos in which the scoreline was 3–3. Vissel Kobe eventually won 3-2 on penalties to win their first Japanese Super Cup title and their second national title ever. On 12 February 2020, Vissel played their first AFC Champions League match against Malaysian league champions, Johor Darul Ta'zim at home winning them 5–1 in which Keijiro Ogawa scored

5032-584: Was confirmed as the 2023 J1 League champions for the first time in history, following a 2–1 win over Nagoya Grampus in the second last week of the season. Kobe thus became the first Japanese football champions to be promoted to the top tier after the J.League era started, as well as the first to play third division football (the old Japan Football League Division 2) before winning the title. On 17 February 2024, Vissel played their second Japanese Super Cup appearance against 2023 Emperor's Cup winner, Kawasaki Frontale but lost 1–0. Vissel also qualified directly to

5106-402: Was featured in a Harvard Business Review case study. Mikitani has been president of Rakuten since its founding, and in 2001 he also became chairman. Among his other titles are Chairman of Rakuten Travel, Chairman of Rakuten Vissel Kobe football club, Director of PriceMinister, Director (Chairman) of Rakuten Kobo , and Chairman, Representative Director and team owner of Rakuten Baseball. He

5180-405: Was held in the Exhibition Hall in Port Island with over 50 countries competing. Sister cities Vissel Kobe Vissel Kobe ( ヴィッセル神戸 , Visseru Kōbe ) is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe , Hyōgo Prefecture . The club plays in the J1 League , which is the top tier of football in the country. They are currently the J1 League champions . The club's home stadium

5254-481: Was named chairman of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011. In 1995, after an earthquake in Kobe caused significant damage so that the city could no longer maintain the Vissel Kobe football club, Mikitani was asked to take over operations of the team. He purchased the team later that year through his company Crimson Group. In 2014 the team was acquired by Rakuten. In 2004, the Japanese Pacific League , amidst financial difficulties, dropped two teams, leading to

5328-750: Was opened to foreign trade by the Shogunal government at the same time as Osaka on January 1, 1868, just before the advent of the Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration . At the time of the opening of the city for foreign trade, the area saw intense fighting resulting from the civil war in progress. Shortly after the opening of Kobe to trade, the Kobe Incident occurred, where several western soldiers sustained wounds from gunfire by troops from Bizen. The region has since been identified with

5402-601: Was the qualifier for the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament . Kobe was one of the host cities of the 2002 FIFA World Cup , hosting matches at Noevir Stadium Kobe (then known as Wing Stadium Kobe), which was renovated to increase its capacity to 40,000 for the event. Kobe was one of the host cities for the official 2006 Women's Volleyball World Championship . Kobe also hosted the World Darts Federation World Cup in October 2017. The event

5476-457: Was the third Spaniard in the team in that season in which they guided Vissel Kobe to win the 2019 Emperor's Cup . On 1 January 2020, first time finalist Vissel beat Kashima Antlers in the 2019 Emperor's Cup final at the recently opened New National Stadium to win the first title in the club history. The furthest Kobe had been in the Emperor's Cup was the semi-finals of 2000 and 2017. This

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