Active and Company, Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo / President: Junya Ohno, hereinafter AAC), the provider of the scholarship repayment support service "Scholarship Bank," is pleased to announce that its service now supports scholarships from the Ashinaga Orphans' Welfare Fund (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo / Representative: Osamu Murata, hereinafter Ashinaga), an organization dedicated to contributing to human society through financial support and emotional care for orphans, fostering volunteers with a spirit of contribution. This integration allows users of Ashinaga scholarships to also utilize the "Scholarship Bank" for proxy repayment, aiming to realize a society where individuals can pursue their careers freely by alleviating the burden of repayment. Background of the Integration Currently, 61.4% of high school graduates advance to university or junior college, and 51.1% of students in daytime undergraduate programs utilize scholarships. The average total scholarship loan amount is 3.23 million yen, with an average repayment period of 15 years, posing a significant financial burden on young people. For children from economically disadvantaged families, scholarships are a beacon of hope for higher education, but they also become a source of anxiety about the future. "Scholarship Bank" is Japan's first platform to support scholarship repayment. By reducing the burden of scholarship repayment, the service aims to create a positive environment for proactive challenges and life stage changes such as starting a business, career changes, marriage, and childbirth, thereby building a sustainable cycle of study and employment. With "Scholarship Bank" now supporting scholarships from Ashinaga, which has long supported children who have lost their parents and children from families where parents cannot work sufficiently due to disabilities, through scholarships, educational programs, and emotional care, users of Ashinaga's scholarships can now also utilize the pro