New contracts expand Leifras' support across weekday and weekend sports and cultural programs as Japan's "Reform Implementation Period" advances, leveraging Leifras' No. 1 domestic track record^[1] and nationwide instructor base to build school club activity infrastructure

TOKYO, Sept. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- LEIFRAS Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: LFS) (the "Company" or "Leifras"), a sports and social business company dedicated to youth sports and community engagement, and a leading operator of children's sports schools and school club activity support businesses in Japan, today announced that it had recently secured contracts for projects related to the regional transition of school club activities and community club activities from five municipalities: Sapporo City in Hokkaido, Adachi Ward and Edogawa Ward in Tokyo, Urayasu City in Chiba Prefecture, and Miyawaka City in Fukuoka Prefecture.

Beginning in fiscal year 2026, Japan entered its "Reform Implementation Period" for school club activity reform. Municipalities nationwide are being called upon to address the declining birthrate and teacher work-style reform while also establishing environments in which children can continue participating in sports and cultural activities over the long term.

Against this backdrop, across Japan, Leifras is expanding its regional school club activity models tailored to the needs of individual municipalities, drawing on its track record of collaboration with municipalities nationwide, its large-scale instructor platform, and its operational expertise in instructor development, safety management, and information and communications technology ("ICT").

The five newly contracted projects each have distinct characteristics, including the integrated management of multiple schools and club activities on a large scale, regional transition covering all junior high schools within a ward, pilot programs that include weekday operations, and the creation of new activity opportunities encompassing cultural programs in addition to sports.

Through these initiatives, Leifras intends to develop its school club activity support business beyond the mere dispatch of instructors into sustainable social infrastructure that supports sports and cultural activities in local communities.

Social Background: Fiscal 2026 "Reform Implementation Period" and Diversification of Regional Challenges

Japan has approximately 9,800 junior high schools, and Leifras estimates the school club activity support market at approximately JPY500 billion.^[2] Within this market, the regional transition and expansion of weekend school club activities are accelerating as Japan seeks to address teacher work-style reform and the increasing difficulty of sustaining school club activities amid the declining birthrate. At the same time, municipalities face increasingly diverse and complex challenges, including the management of activities on both weekends and weekdays, the transition of cultural and sports clubs into community-based activities, and the provision of equal opportunities across all schools within a municipality. The Company intends to provide customized and comprehensive solutions suited to local needs, based on its proprietary instructor platform, comprising full-time supervising personnel and a roving instructor system, together with its safety management expertise.

Diverse Regional School Club Activity Transition Models Across Five Municipalities

1. Sapporo City, Hokkaido (Population: 1,961,890^[3]) | Pilot Program for a Regional Transition Model Including Weekdays

Leifras will manage community club activities and assign instructors not only on weekends but also on weekdays at approximately 10 to 15 municipal junior high schools designated by Sapporo City, covering approximately 50 to 60 club activities. Through pilot operations across multiple schools and a variety of activities, the Company intends to identify and assess issues toward establishing a sustainable operating framework.

2. Adachi Ward, Tokyo (Population: 708,442^[3]) | Comprehensive, Integrated Management of 30 Club Activities at 10 Schools

Leifras will provide integrated instruction and operational management for a total of 30 club activities at 10 municipal junior high schools. In addition to technical instruction by specialized instructors, the Company will provide comprehensive support for tournament procedures, the arrangement of practice matches, and communications with parents and guardians through a dedicated application, with the aim of reducing the operational burden on schools.

3. Edogawa Ward, Tokyo (Population: 701,559^[3]) | Comprehensive Support Covering All 32 Municipal Junior High Schools

Across all 32 municipal junior high schools in Edogawa Ward, Leifras will progressively manage and provide instruction of one club activity per school as a weekend community club activity. The Company will build a comprehensive ward-wide regional transition framework, including communications with parents and guardians through ICT tools and safety management.

4. Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture (Population: 172,777^[3]) | Expansion into Cultural Clubs Beyond Sports

Going beyond the conventional framework of school club activities, the Company will plan and operate cultural clubs in areas such as insects, photography, Othello, cooking, arts and crafts, outdoor activities, confectionery making and string instruments, creating new places and opportunities for children to pursue a wide range of interests.

5. Miyawaka City, Fukuoka Prefecture (Population: 25,302^[3]) | Comprehensive Regional Collaboration Across 11 Community Clubs

For a total of 11 club activities comprising 10 sports clubs and one cultural club, Leifras will provide end-to-end support ranging from activity planning and safety management to insurance procedures and coordination among schools, the city, and parents and guardians, while advancing the development of a community-wide support framework.

Expanding Beyond Instructor Dispatch to Operational Infrastructure for Community Sports and Cultural Activities

The five projects demonstrate an expansion of Leifras' role beyond merely dispatching instructors to serving as operational infrastructure that connects municipalities, schools, community organizations, and parents and guardians.

In addition to securing and assigning instructors, the Company provides comprehensive functions required for community club operations, including instructor training, safety management, insurance administration, communications with parents and guardians, attendance and activity management using ICT, coordination with municipalities and schools, and assessment of future business models.

The Company's scope of support is also expanding beyond the weekend-focused regional transition of school club activities. For example, the Sapporo City project includes weekday operations, while the Urayasu City project incorporates cultural activities alongside sports.

"Reform Implementation Period" Moves into Full Swing as Regional Transition Expands Nationwide

Against the backdrop of the declining birthrate and long working hours for teachers, transitioning school club activities to a sustainable model has become a common social challenge throughout Japan.

As school club activity reform enters a new phase in fiscal year 2026, municipalities require operating systems that can address not only instructor recruitment but also safety management, operational management, coordination with schools and parents and guardians, and ICT infrastructure.

Leifras believes that the role of private-sector operators will continue to expand as municipalities nationwide advance the regional transition of school club activities, providing opportunities for the Company to expand its school club activity support business within the estimated JPY500 billion market.^[2]

Accelerating Nationwide Expansion Supported by the No. 1 Domestic Track Record^[1]

As of December 2025, Leifras had contracts covering 381 schools and supported 2,120 club activities, representing the No. 1 track record in Japan for regional school club activity support.

The Company also operates in all 47 prefectures in Japan and has a human resources base comprising 1,055 full-time employees and 3,544 part-time employees, providing a structure for recruiting, developing, assigning and managing instructors in response to differing regional needs.

Through the five newly announced municipal contracts and the continued application of operational expertise accumulated across Japan, the Company intends to further strengthen its business foundation for sustainably supporting the regional transition of school club activities while addressing the distinct challenges of each municipality.

Future Outlook

Under its corporate philosophy "to change and design sports," Leifras will continue to support environments in which children can participate in safe, high-quality sports and cultural activities over the long term, regardless of where they live.

The Company plans to continue to leverage its nationwide track record of collaboration with municipalities, instructor platform, and operational expertise spanning human resources development, safety management and ICT, with the aim of building social infrastructure that comprehensively provides the functions required for the regional transition of school club activities.

By accumulating and applying the knowledge and operating models developed in different regions, Leifras aims to contribute to addressing the challenges of school club activity reform nationwide while pursuing further growth of its school club activity support business.

About LEIFRAS Co., Ltd.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Leifras is a sports and social business company dedicated to youth sports and community engagement. The Company primarily provides services related to the organization and operations of sports schools and sports events for children. As of December 31, 2025, Leifras was recognized as one of Japan's largest operators of children's sports schools in terms of both membership and facilities by Tokyo Shoko Research. The Company's approach to sports education emphasizes the development of non-cognitive skills, following the teaching principle "acknowledge, praise, encourage, and motivate." The holistic approach that integrates physical and mental development sets Leifras apart in the industry. Building upon deep experience and know-how in sports education, Leifras also operates a robust social business sector, dispatching sports coaches to meet various community needs with the aim to promote physical health, social inclusion, and community well-being across different demographics.

For more information, please visit the Company's website: https://ir.leifras.co.jp/.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company's current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs. Investors can find many (but not all) of these statements by the use of words such as "approximates," "believes," "hopes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "projects," "intends," "plans," "will," "would," "should," "could," "may," or other similar expressions in this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks, including, but not limited to, the uncertainties related to market conditions, and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the annual report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the annual report and other filings with the SEC. Additional factors are discussed in the Company's filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov.

For more information, please contact:

LEIFRAS Co., Ltd.
Investor Relations Department
Email: IR@leifras.co.jp

Ascent Investor Relations LLC
Tina Xiao
Phone: +1-646-932-7242
Email: investors@ascent-ir.com

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SOURCE LEIFRAS Co., Ltd.