Commemorative photo taken after the contract signing ceremony held in Tokyo on June 23, 2026. (From left) Tomokatsu Ishida, Representative Director of Youth Inc., Kenichi Nozawa, Chairman of Asahi Inc. Youth Inc. (Headquarters: Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture, Representative Director: Tomokatsu Ishida, hereinafter "Youth"), which handles the manufacturing of wooden packaging materials and packing agency services, acquired all shares of Asahi Inc. (Headquarters: Adachi Ward, Tokyo, Representative Director: Kenichi Nozawa, hereinafter "Asahi"), a pioneer in quilted packaging materials, on June 23, 2026, making it a group company. Youth focused on Asahi's products, including the "Fit Cover," a stretchable quilt highly regarded in the moving and logistics industries, and pursued this M&A to further expand its packaging and packing business. Under the new structure, Tatsuya Ishida, Senior Managing Director of Youth, will become the Representative Director and President of Asahi, and Kenichi Nozawa will serve as Chairman. We will pass on the technology and know-how cultivated over 60 years to the next generation and respond to a wider range of packaging and packing needs. ▍Youth has steadily expanded its packaging and packing business Since its establishment in 1970, Youth has focused on manufacturing wooden packaging materials and providing packing agency services. The company also continues to do business with many companies, primarily within Saitama Prefecture, as the first Askul sales agent in Saitama. Furthermore, Youth has expanded its business in the packaging and packing field by welcoming Takahashi Processing Co., Ltd. (Shiraoka City, Saitama Prefecture), which handles food packaging processing, in March 2023, and Koike Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Satte City, Saitama Prefecture), which handles label and shrink processing, in March 2026, into its group. Wooden packaging materials manufactured by Youth Youth's headquarters factory manufacturing wooden packaging materials ▍Mee