Event Cancellations and Declining Advertising Placements Due to COVID-19

「If infectious or communicable diseases were to worsen and further infections were to spread, our operating performance could be affected by workplace closures due to employee infections, suspension of newspaper publication, publication delays caused by supply chain disruptions and other factors.」

「If infectious or communicable diseases were to worsen and further infections were to spread, our operating performance could be affected by workplace closures due to employee infections, suspension of newspaper publication, publication delays caused by supply chain disruptions and other factors. In addition, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, we will address heatstroke, which in recent years has carried a high risk of becoming severe, as a social issue as well as an internal matter, and strive to provide appropriate information and alerts.」

「The spread of COVID-19 and the various restrictions associated with it have had a substantial impact not only on Japan's economy but also on the global economy. However, as infections have subsided and from the perspective of maintaining economic activity, moves to ease restrictions have accelerated and the economy is recovering.」

「During the cumulative first-quarter period, Japan's economy showed signs of recovery, centered on the recovery of personal consumption and inbound demand, as economic and social activity returned further toward pre-pandemic conditions.」

「Economic and social activity showed signs of normalization, including the reclassification of COVID-19 to Category 5. The economy began to show signs of recovery, supported by a recovery trend in personal consumption, stronger inbound demand and improving employment conditions.」

「In sales activities, while seeking to expand recovering private-sector advertising placements, we strengthened our approach to government and local organizations based on relationships of trust with local communities, captured political-related demand, implemented company-wide joint projects, and published special issues focused on local challenges. We pursued these initiatives continuously and on multiple fronts and were able to turn them into results.」

「During the cumulative period under review, the company's print publishing business achieved results by developing demand from government and local organizations while private-sector advertising placements gradually recovered, including through joint feature projects and special issues focused on local challenges.」

「The free-paper and advertising industries to which the company belongs face increasingly diverse advertising media, including the web and social media, and persistent price competition. Against this backdrop, private-sector advertising demand, which had been sluggish due to the spread of COVID-19, is showing signs of recovery.」

「If the situation surrounding the spread of COVID-19 were to persist and further infections were to spread, our operating performance could be affected by workplace closures due to employee infections, suspension of newspaper publication, publication delays caused by supply chain disruptions and other factors.」

「The free local newspaper and advertising industries in which we operate continue to face a challenging environment, as price competition becomes entrenched through the diversification of advertising media, including the Web and SNS, while private-sector advertising placements remain sluggish due to the spread of COVID-19.」

「If the situation surrounding the spread of COVID-19 were to persist and further infections were to spread, our operating performance could be affected by workplace closures due to employee infections, suspension of newspaper publication, publication delays caused by supply chain disruptions and other factors.」

「The free local newspaper and advertising industries in which we operate face a challenging operating environment, as digital transformation, including the Web and SNS, necessitates optimizing media to reflect current conditions, while a climate of restraint on advertising associated with the prolonged spread of COVID-19 also persists.」

「Although we actively advanced these measures, the impact of the spread of COVID-19 was substantial. Core print advertising sales declined due to a tendency among advertisers to hold back on placements in wider areas and declines in placements from small clients.」

「Under the difficult local economic conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, print advertising sales could not be increased. Although web advertising sales and sales from planning and production activities outside the print publication increased, overall net sales fell below the results for the same period of the previous year.」

「Meanwhile, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we placed the health of our employees, interviewees and business partners first and rigorously implemented shift work, staggered working hours, telework and satellite work, and the minimization of face-to-face contact in sales and reporting activities. We also adopted a special publication format for the Town News newspaper, including reduced page counts, for approximately 3 months.」

「Although these activities had an effect, advertising placements were repeatedly canceled or reduced, particularly from March onward, due to the successive cancellation or voluntary restraint of local events accompanying the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting deterioration in the local economy. As a result, net sales fell below the results for the same period of the previous year.」