Expand the digital business as a second pillar

「During the consolidated fiscal year, sales remained firm, mainly in travel-related commercial publications, e-books and apps, as the recovery trend in travel and tourism demand continued from the previous year.」

「Sales remained firm, mainly for commercially distributed travel-related publications and e-books and apps.」

「During the consolidated fiscal year, although results did not reach the level of the previous fiscal year, when the market recovered sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of commercial publications remained firm, led by travel magazines covering major domestic tourist destinations and nearby overseas regions such as Taiwan and Seoul, including *Mapple Magazine*. E-books, including unlimited-access services, also performed steadily.」

「During the interim consolidated accounting period, although results did not reach the level of the same period last year, when the market recovered sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of commercial publications remained firm, led by travel magazines covering major domestic tourist destinations such as *Mapple Magazine*, and e-books, including unlimited-access services, also performed steadily.」

「Sales increased year on year as sales of commercial publications, including travel magazines centered on *Mapple Magazine*, rose, e-books including unlimited-access services grew steadily, and advertising revenue also increased, supported by the rapid market recovery.」

「Sales increased significantly year on year as sales rose for commercial publications, including travel magazines centered on *Mapple Magazine*, both domestic editions and editions covering nearby Asian countries and regions such as Seoul and Taiwan; e-books, including unlimited-access services, also grew steadily; and advertising and custom-order product revenue increased, supported by the rapid market recovery.」

「Sales increased year on year as sales of commercial publications, including travel magazines centered on *Mapple Magazine*, rose, e-books including unlimited-access services grew steadily, and advertising revenue also increased, supported by the rapid market recovery.」

「During the same period, in addition to launching *Kotorippu passport*, the first subscription service in the popular women's travel guidebook series *Kotorippu*, which has cumulative circulation of more than 18 million copies and offers unlimited access to e-books including *Kotorippu* and the quarterly *Kotorippu Magazine*, we began offering *Mapple Link: Unlimited Access to Domestic Regional Guidebooks*, a subscription service providing unlimited access to e-books of all domestic regional editions of *Mapple Magazine* through the smartphone app *Mapple Link*.」

「Sales of commercial publications and other products remained firm, while e-book sales, including unlimited-access services, also grew steadily. Although figures for certain consolidated subsidiaries included in the cumulative second quarter of the previous year were excluded from the scope of consolidation following the business reorganization described above, net sales were ¥2,411 million, an increase of ¥22 million, or 1.0%, from the cumulative second quarter of the previous year.」

「In response to these changes in the operating environment, we recognize that an important priority for the Group is to focus more than ever, alongside our existing commercial publishing and solution businesses, on providing information through electronic media such as websites, smartphone apps and e-books, while accumulating the latest technologies and expertise to develop more user-friendly and convenient forms of information provision and solutions.」

「The Group has pursued transformation through the introduction of e-books in the publishing business and the conversion of readers into members by building series brands. It has also evolved the electronic business from a content-provision model to a solution-provision model, entered new travel-related and local-activity businesses, and worked to create value that meets the needs of the times and expand its earnings base through global development.」

「The Group has pursued transformation through the introduction of e-books in the publishing business and the conversion of readers into members by building series brands. It has also evolved the electronic business from a content-provision model to a solution-provision model, entered new travel-related and local-activity businesses, and worked to create value that meets the needs of the times and expand its earnings base through global development.」

「We have worked to create value that meets the needs of the times and expand our earnings base through global development by evolving the electronic business from a content-provision model to a solution-provision model and entering new travel-related and local-activity businesses.」

「We are currently promoting the expansion of the "inbound business" and "travel-in-destination business," which were launched in recent years as new businesses, as important priorities for the Group. We recognize these businesses as fields with further growth potential and, by actively investing management resources, are pursuing them across the Company with the aim of making them core businesses at an early stage.」

「To restore the performance of the Group going forward, it is essential not only to rapidly expand the electronic business using our existing databases but also to actively pursue new businesses.」

「As we developed the map and guide databases that are the result of these efforts, we began pursuing the development and expansion of the electronic business, using those databases, with the aim of making it the second core business of the Company.」