Operating Across All 47 Prefectures in Japan, Ranking No. 1 in School Club Activity Support (According to Tokyo Shoko Research, as of December 2025) with Over 70,000 Sports School Members. Following Its Nasdaq Listing, Leifras Sets Vision for the Next 25 Years to Establish Sustainable Education, Sports, and Social Infrastructure
TOKYO, Aug. 28, 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 Japan’s leading operator of children’s sports schools and school club activity support businesses, today announced that it celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding on August 28, 2026.
Founded in 2001, Leifras has been dedicated to fostering children’s “non-cognitive skills” through sports. Today, the Company operates across all 47 prefectures in Japan. With approximately 70,700 sports school members as of December 2025, the Company has grown into one of Japan’s largest sports school operators, while expanding its business to address a wide range of social issues through sports and education, including school club activity support.
In October 2025, the Company completed its initial listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Positioning its 25th anniversary as a new starting point, the Company intends to leverage its nationwide foundation and expertise to explore opportunities to expand its social undertakings into international markets.
At this milestone, the Company expresses its sincere gratitude to all stakeholders who have supported it to date and announces a new vision for the next 25 years: establishing sustainable education, sports, and social infrastructure.
Growth Journey: 25 Years of Changing Conventional Coaching in Japan Under the Message “Build Strength of Heart”
The Company was founded in 2001 in response to strong concerns about coaching practices that were common in the sports world at the time, including excessive emphasis on technical ability and winning, as well as corporal punishment and harsh reprimands. The Company believed that to enrich children’s lives, sports could play an important role by cultivating “non-cognitive skills (strength of heart)”—such as greetings, courtesy, leadership, and cooperation—that may develop strength and social resiliency in children. Under the coaching philosophy of “acknowledge, praise, encourage, and motivate,” the Company created an entirely new educational sports model in which specialized professional instructors (full-time employees) systematically recognize and develop these values. The Company believes that this approach has resonated with many parents and educators and, over the past 25 years, has enabled the Company to expand its business to all 47 prefectures in Japan and establish a nationwide business foundation. Leifras has also achieved the No. 1 position in Japan in sports school membership for four consecutive years, according to a survey by Tokyo Shoko Research as of December 31, 2025.
Current Strengths: Japan’s No. 1 Operator Providing School Club Activity Support and a Robust Instructor Platform
The Company’s “instructor platform,” its nationwide network of trained, full-time professional sports instructors, refined over the Company’s 25-year history, together with rigorous safety management and a sophisticated governance framework, now serves as a major platform and solution for the “regional transition of school club activities,” a national policy initiative gaining momentum in Japan. As of December 2025, the Company’s contracted school club activity support operations had reached 381 schools and 2,120 clubs nationwide, ranking No. 1 in Japan in both categories, according to a survey by Tokyo Shoko Research. As a leading private-sector operator in public education outsourcing, the Company continues its endeavors to help reduce the burden on teachers while protecting diverse activity opportunities for children.
Future Outlook: Two Visions for the Next Quarter-Century, for the World and Local Communities
Having reached the milestone of its 25th anniversary, Leifras is now setting a course toward the establishment of even broader “education, sports, and social infrastructure” over the next 25 years.
Bringing Japan-Born Non-Cognitive Skills Education to Children Around the World
Leveraging its 2025 Nasdaq listing, the Company aims to explore opportunities to bring its “non-cognitive skills development method” beyond its maturing domestic market to children throughout Asia and around the world. The Company may pursue international expansion through strategic partnerships, joint ventures, licensing arrangements, or selective acquisitions, to foster the development of independence through sports and enhance the lives of more children.
Establishing an Inclusive and Sustainable Public-Private “Social Infrastructure”
The Company is dedicated to further deepening synergies among its school sports business, school club activity support business, and other social businesses, including after-school daycare services, facility management services, and elderly healthcare services. Together with local governments and companies, the Company aims to build an “inclusive community infrastructure” throughout Japan and around the world for people of different ages and abilities to enjoy sports and health activities safely and sustainably, while contributing to more diverse and connected communities.
Message from Mr. Kiyotaka Ito, Representative Director and Chief Executive Officer of Leifras
“Since Leifras was founded in 2001, we have worked to nurture children’s hearts through sports and have endeavored to enrich their lives. Reaching this 25th anniversary milestone would not have been possible without our members and parents who have trusted and supported us over many years, our partners, including local governments, schools, and communities, and our employees across Japan who engage with children every day. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude.
“Over the past 25 years, our business, which began with sports schools, has expanded into school club activity support, social businesses, facility management, elderly healthcare, and other areas. Today, Leifras stands at a new starting line for the next 25 years.
“Going forward, under our corporate philosophy of ‘To Change and Design Sports,’ we will stay true to the commitment we have held since our founding to fostering children’s non-cognitive skills, while working to solve challenges faced by communities and society through sports and education. We also hope to explore opportunities to bring the expertise and value we have cultivated in Japan to more communities around the world.
“Our 25th anniversary is not a goal, but a new starting point toward the future. With gratitude to everyone who has supported us, we will continue taking on challenges so that we can remain a company that contributes to the future of people and society.”
On the 25th Anniversary
On its 25th anniversary, the Company reflects on its journey to date while reaffirming its connections with all stakeholders who have supported it—including employees and their families, members and parents, and local communities—and will advance initiatives toward its next stage of growth.
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 subsequent 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: [email protected]
Ascent Investor Relations LLC
Tina Xiao
Phone: +1-646-932-7242
Email: [email protected]
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