Strengthening the Publishing Business Through New Products, Reduced Returns and MAPPLE LINK

「In addition, for the derivative product Yama to Kogen Chizu Jigsaw Puzzle, introduced last fiscal year, we released Yama to Kogen Chizu Jigsaw Puzzle: Tsurugi and Tateyama and Yama to Kogen Chizu Jigsaw Puzzle: Kitadake and Kaikomagatake.」

「In the long-selling *Mountain and Highland Map* mountaineering map series, in addition to launching the 2026 edition of *Mountain and Highland Map*, fully revised for "Mt. Gozaisho, Mt. Ryozen and Mt. Ibuki" and the "Hira Mountains," we launched *Mountain and Highland Map Jigsaw Puzzles* to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the series. The puzzles were well received and temporarily sold out. We also released the second installment, *Mountain and Highland Map Jigsaw Puzzle: Yatsugatake*, and the third installment, *Mountain and Highland Map Jigsaw Puzzle: Mt. Fuji*.」

「In the Yama to Kogen Chizu series, in addition to releasing the 2026 edition of Yama to Kogen Chizu, fully revised for “Gozaisho, Ryosen and Ibuki” and the “Hira Mountain Range,” we released the Yama to Kogen Chizu Jigsaw Puzzle as a 60th-anniversary initiative. It was well received and temporarily sold out, and we subsequently released the second installment, Yama to Kogen Chizu Jigsaw Puzzle: Yatsugatake, and the third installment, Yama to Kogen Chizu Jigsaw Puzzle: Mount Fuji.」

「In commercial publications, we launched 7 new titles in the well-received "Sutto at a Glance" series, enabling readers to enjoy knowledge from various fields "at a glance": *The Teachings of Confucius at a Glance*, *Ukiyo-e at a Glance in Illustrations*, *Geoeconomics at a Glance on Maps*, *The Sengoku Period of the Toyotomi Clan at a Glance on Maps*, *The Nuclear Threat at a Glance on Maps*, *Philosophy at a Glance: Philosophy as a Guide to Life* and *The Geography of the World at a Glance on Maps*. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the launch of the *Mountain and Highland Map* series, we also launched *Mountain and Highland Map Jigsaw Puzzles*, which were well received and temporarily sold out.」

「In addition to expanding our publishing product lineup, we newly opened the "Shobunsha Official Online Store," where Shobunsha publications can be purchased online. In December, we also held the first in-person event in 2 years, "Kotorippu Travel Marche 2024," in Omotesando.」

「In commercial publications, in addition to expanding our travel magazines, including revised editions of overseas editions for the first time in several years following the COVID-19 pandemic, we launched new titles in the well-received "Sutto at a Glance" series. We expanded the lineup with a variety of titles, including *The Global Economy at a Glance on Maps*, which provides a broad explanation of today's complex global economy; *The World's National Power Rankings at a Glance on Maps*, which explains what true national power means; a revised edition of *The 50 States of America at a Glance on Maps*, timed to coincide with the U.S. presidential election year; and *The Teachings of Kukai at a Glance*, the series' first title in its "Great Figures" category.」

「In commercial travel and outing-related publications, in addition to expanding our standard travel magazines and other products, we launched *Hokkaido Travel Encyclopedia*, a definitive guide to all 179 municipalities in Hokkaido organized around 17 themes; *Mapple: Factory Tours and Social Studies Field Trips—Tokyo Metropolitan Area / Keihanshin, Nagoya and Surrounding Areas*; *Saitama and Gunma Special Edition: Day Trips—Small Journeys for Adults*, the first new title in the series in 2 years; and 9 titles in the new overseas guidebook series *Mapple WORLD*.」

「In commercial travel and outing-related publications, in addition to expanding our standard travel magazines and other products, we launched *Hokkaido Travel Encyclopedia*, a definitive guide to all 179 municipalities in Hokkaido organized around 17 themes; *Mapple: Factory Tours and Social Studies Field Trips—Tokyo Metropolitan Area / Keihanshin, Nagoya and Surrounding Areas*; *Saitama and Gunma Special Edition: Day Trips—Small Journeys for Adults*, the first new title in the series in 2 years; and 5 titles in the new overseas guidebook series *Mapple WORLD*.」

「In commercial travel and outing-related publications, in addition to expanding our standard travel magazines and other products, we launched *Hokkaido Travel Encyclopedia*, a definitive guide to all 179 municipalities in Hokkaido organized around 17 themes; *Mapple: Factory Tours and Social Studies Field Trips—Tokyo Metropolitan Area / Keihanshin, Nagoya and Surrounding Areas*, a guidebook for learning about society in an enjoyable way; and *Saitama and Gunma Special Edition: Day Trips—Small Journeys for Adults*, the first new title in the series in 2 years. In the well-received "Sutto at a Glance on Maps" series, we also launched *The World's Resources and the Struggle for Them at a Glance on Maps*, produced in response to recent international developments, and *Murasaki Shikibu and The Tale of Genji at a Glance in Illustrations*, which explains the plot of the epic novel *The Tale of Genji* and the life of its author, Murasaki Shikibu.」

「In commercial publications, in addition to expanding our standard travel magazines and other products, we launched *Hokkaido Travel Encyclopedia*, a definitive guide to all 179 municipalities in Hokkaido organized around 17 themes, and *60 Recommended Sweets: The Ultimate Sweets*, a collaborative sweets book with the sweets-information account "The Ultimate Sweets." We also launched *The World's Resources and the Struggle for Them at a Glance on Maps* in the well-received "Sutto at a Glance" series, in response to recent international developments.」

「In commercial publications, demand recovered to the point that some editions of the standard travel magazine *Mapple Magazine (domestic regional editions)* became temporarily scarce. In response to these changes in the operating environment, we expanded inventories of the magazine and launched the latest revised edition of *Mapple: Delicious Roadside Station Drives*, *Mountain and Highland Map Guide*, *Nationwide Campground Guide*, and *Family Outings: Summer Vacation Edition—From the Kanto and Tokyo Metropolitan Area* and *From Keihanshin and Nagoya*. We also sequentially published fully revised editions of the *Color Plus* travel guidebook series, launched in 2018, thereby expanding our lineup of domestic travel and outing-related products.」

「In commercial publications, demand recovered to the point that some editions of the standard travel magazine *Mapple Magazine (domestic regional editions)* became temporarily scarce. In response to these changes in the operating environment, we expanded inventories of the magazine and launched the latest revised edition of *Mapple: Delicious Roadside Station Drives*, *Mountain and Highland Map Guide*, *Nationwide Campground Guide*, and *Family Outings: Summer Vacation Edition—From the Kanto and Tokyo Metropolitan Area* and *From Keihanshin and Nagoya*. During the same period, we also launched *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, offering unlimited access to e-books including *Kotorippu* and the quarterly *Kotorippu Magazine*. In addition, beginning with the September issue, we revamped the *Mapple Magazine* travel magazine series, changing from the previous AB format to a compact B5 variant, or Traveler's Size, approximately 25% smaller by area, making the magazines easier to carry and use while retaining their extensive travel information.」

「In commercial publications, in response to these changes in the operating environment, we expanded our lineup of domestic travel and outing-related products by launching, in addition to existing products such as the standard travel magazine *Mapple Magazine (regional editions)*, the latest revised edition of *Mapple: Delicious Roadside Station Drives*, *Mountain and Highland Map Guide* and *Nationwide Campground Guide*. We also launched titles such as *The World's Three Major Religions at a Glance on Maps* in our popular series of projects designed to satisfy intellectual curiosity and enable readers to enjoy imagined travel while staying at home.」

「In map-related projects for enjoying at home, we completed the lineup of the popular map-entertainment guidebook series "Torisetsu," which explains the various features of each region through maps, with editions for all 47 prefectures of Japan. In the well-received "Sutto at a Glance on Maps" series, we launched *The Showa Era and Modern Japanese History at a Glance on Maps*, *The Heian Period at a Glance on Maps*, *The Jomon Period at a Glance on Maps*, *The Kamakura and Muromachi Periods at a Glance on Maps*, *Japan's 47 Prefectures at a Glance on Maps*, *47 European Countries at a Glance on Maps* and *25 Asian Countries and Regions at a Glance on Maps*, expanding the series across eras and regions.」

「In map-related projects for enjoying at home, we completed the lineup of the popular map-entertainment guidebook series "Torisetsu," which explains the various features of each region through maps, with editions for almost every prefecture, totaling 46 titles published as of the end of December 2021. In the well-received "Sutto at a Glance on Maps" series, we launched *The Showa Era and Modern Japanese History at a Glance on Maps*, *The Heian Period at a Glance on Maps*, *The Jomon Period at a Glance on Maps*, *Japan's 47 Prefectures at a Glance on Maps*, *47 European Countries at a Glance on Maps* and *25 Asian Countries and Regions at a Glance on Maps*, expanding the series across eras and regions.」

「In map-related projects for enjoying at home, we launched editions for Ibaraki, Nagasaki, Kyoto, Fukui, Shiga, Yamaguchi, Gifu, Kagoshima, Iwate, Toyama, Okinawa, Yamagata, Akita, Yamanashi, Shimane, Aomori, Ehime, Niigata and Kagawa in the popular map-entertainment guidebook series "Torisetsu," which explains the various features of each region through maps. In the well-received "Sutto at a Glance on Maps" series, we launched *The Showa Era and Modern Japanese History at a Glance on Maps*, *47 European Countries at a Glance on Maps* and *The Heian Period at a Glance on Maps*, further expanding the series across eras and regions. To meet demand for parents and children spending time at home, we also launched *Japan Map Book*, *World Map Book*, *A Fun Illustrated Atlas of Japan's 47 Prefectures at a Glance on Maps* and *A Fun Illustrated Atlas of the World's Countries at a Glance on Maps* in the "Mapple Kids" series.」

「In map-related projects for enjoying at home, we launched editions for Ibaraki, Nagasaki, Kyoto, Fukui, Shiga, Yamaguchi, Gifu, Kagoshima and Iwate in the popular map-entertainment guidebook series "Torisetsu," which explains the various features of each region through maps. To meet demand for parents and children spending time at home, we also launched new titles in the "Mapple Kids" series, including *Japan Map Book*, *World Map Book*, *A Fun Illustrated Atlas of Japan's 47 Prefectures at a Glance on Maps* and *A Fun Illustrated Atlas of the World's Countries at a Glance on Maps*.」

「In the popular map-entertainment guidebook series "Torisetsu," we launched editions for Aichi, Saitama, Hiroshima, Osaka, Hokkaido, Gunma, Nara, Fukushima, Ishikawa, Nagano, Tokyo, Shizuoka, Tochigi and Okayama, in that order, expanding the lineup to 19 titles.」

「During the cumulative period, we expanded the Japanese-history offering in the well-received "Sutto at a Glance" series with *The Sengoku Period at a Glance on Maps*, *The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki at a Glance on Maps*, *The Bakumatsu and Meiji Restoration at a Glance on Maps* and *The Edo Period at a Glance in Illustrations*. We also launched *The 50 States of America at a Glance on Maps*, which examines the character of the 50 states where presidential elections were held. In addition, we launched *Saitama Torisetsu*, *Hiroshima Torisetsu*, *Osaka Torisetsu*, *Hokkaido Torisetsu*, *Gunma Torisetsu*, *Nara Torisetsu* and *Fukushima Torisetsu* in the popular map-entertainment guidebook series "Torisetsu," expanding the lineup to 13 titles.」

「During the cumulative second quarter, we launched the fourth title in the well-received "Sutto at a Glance" series, *The Sengoku Period at a Glance on Maps*, which enables readers to better enjoy dramas, films and novels set in the Sengoku period; the fifth title, *The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki at a Glance on Maps*, which explores Japan's oldest historical records through maps and illustrations; and the sixth title, *The 50 States of America at a Glance on Maps*, which examines the character of each of the 50 U.S. states, where presidential elections are held every four years. We also launched *Saitama Torisetsu* and *Hiroshima Torisetsu* in the popular "Torisetsu" series.」

「In June, the company released “地図でスッと頭に入る 戦国時代,” the fourth title in the popular “スッと頭に入る” series, supervised by a historical adviser for a Taiga drama and focused on the Sengoku period to enhance enjoyment of dramas, films, and novels set in that era. It also released “埼玉のトリセツ,” the latest title in the popular series that interprets the various features of a region through maps. Both series are planned to continue with additional volumes as maps that can be enjoyed at home.」

「First, in April, the final month of the Heisei era, the company launched “平成31リターンズ” as a convenience-store-exclusive product under the concept “Let's take a quick look back at the Heisei era before Reiwa.” In May, Guam Ocean Park Corporation, a local subsidiary positioned at the forefront of the Group's “during the trip” business strategy, held the grand opening of the marine activities facility “Guam Ocean Park.” In June, as a new product for the “before the trip” business, the company launched “Re,” a new travel guidebook series for older adults to rediscover the enjoyment of travel, publishing 6 regional editions—Hokkaido, Tohoku, Tokyo, Hokuriku Kanazawa, Kyoto, and Okinawa—at major bookstores nationwide.」

「First, in April, the final month of the Heisei era, the company launched “平成31リターンズ” as a convenience-store-exclusive product, following the previous year's “平成本,” under the concept “Let's take a quick look back at the Heisei era before Reiwa.” In May, Guam Ocean Park Corporation, a local subsidiary positioned at the forefront of the Group's “during the trip” business strategy, held the grand opening of the marine activities facility “Guam Ocean Park.” In June, as a new product for the “before the trip” business, the company launched “Re,” a new travel guidebook series for older adults to rediscover the enjoyment of travel, publishing 6 regional editions—Hokkaido, Tohoku, Tokyo, Hokuriku Kanazawa, Kyoto, and Okinawa—at major bookstores nationwide.」

「In the “before the trip” category, the company launched the new travel guidebook series “COLOR＋,” based on the concept “Discover something different and new,” in April. In June, it released “シティーズとうきょう,” a practical book representing the company's first project in the map-picture-book genre. In November, it released “ドラマを起こすガイドブック,” an entirely new write-in guidebook that allows readers to enjoy overseas travel while playing through numerous activities, planned by SCRAP Co., Ltd., which plans and operates real-life escape games, and jointly produced with the Company. The company continues to release publications based on original concepts to stimulate new needs among travelers. In addition, the “大人の小さな旅” series, first published in March 2016, surpassed cumulative sales of 1 million copies in March 2019 and has become a long-running popular guidebook series.」

「Under the new organizational structure following the reforms implemented in the previous fiscal year, the Group continues to focus on improving efficiency and strengthening its organization by concentrating database production in a subsidiary, as well as on measures to suppress returns of trade publications. In addition, since the previous fiscal year, the Group has reorganized travelers' activities, its primary business focus, into “before the trip,” “during the trip,” and “after the trip.” In the “before the trip” category, it launched the new travel guidebook series “COLOR＋,” based on the concept “Discover something different and new,” in April. In June, it released “シティーズとうきょう,” a practical book representing the company's first project in the map-picture-book genre. In November, it released “ドラマを起こすガイドブック,” an entirely new write-in guidebook that allows readers to enjoy overseas travel while playing through numerous activities, planned by SCRAP Co., Ltd., which plans and operates real-life escape games, and jointly produced with the Company.」

「In trade publications, the company continued to advance market inventory management to suppress returns, reducing the value of returns by ¥131 million year on year. Although sales of guidebooks and practical books exceeded the previous year's levels following the launch of the new series and new titles, map sales fell below the previous year's level. Magazine sales also declined overall because a new series had been launched in the previous year.」

「In trade publications, the company continued to advance market inventory management to suppress returns, which had contributed to deteriorating results, reducing the value of returns by ¥39 million year on year. However, although sales of guidebooks exceeded the previous year's level following the launch of the new series mentioned above, sales of maps and magazines fell below the previous year's levels, resulting in an overall decline in revenue.」

「For commercial publications, the company implemented thorough management of market inventories to curb returns, which had been a factor behind the deterioration in performance in the previous consolidated fiscal year, improving the value of returns by ¥612 million from the previous year.」

「For commercial publications, the company implemented thorough management of market inventories to curb returns, which had been a factor behind the deterioration in performance in the previous consolidated fiscal year, reducing the value of returns by ¥378 million from the previous year. However, sales were affected by restraining product supplies to bookstore shelves to curb returns and by the absence of revisions to guidebook series like those published in the previous year. Commercial publication sales therefore fell by ¥104 million from the third quarter of the previous fiscal year to ¥4,121 million.」

「In trade publications, the company advanced rigorous market inventory management to suppress returns, which had contributed to deteriorating results in the previous consolidated fiscal year. As a result, the value of returns declined by ¥380 million year on year. Meanwhile, sales were affected by restraining product supplies to bookstores to limit returns and by the absence of revisions to guidebook series such as those made in the same period of the previous year. Nevertheless, sales of trade publications increased by ¥171 million from the cumulative second quarter of the previous fiscal year to ¥3,008 million.」

「In trade publications, the company advanced rigorous market inventory management to suppress returns, which had contributed to deteriorating results in the previous consolidated fiscal year. As a result, the value of returns declined by ¥288 million year on year.」

「Specific challenges in the publishing business include publishing new products with strong appeal, reducing returns through rigorous management of market inventory, expanding publishing sales through “Mapple Link,” and building new businesses. For the “ことりっぷ” brand, the company will seek to secure more collaboration projects with external companies.」