BANDAI Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Kazuhiro Takenaka; headquarters: Taito-ku, Tokyo) and MEGAHOUSE Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Akihiro Sato; headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) have been selected for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's (METI) inaugural 'Top 20 Toy Industry Companies Pioneering New Frontiers'. The 'Top 20 Toy Industry Companies Pioneering New Frontiers' initiative aims to enhance public recognition of toy-related enterprises, promote the industry-wide adoption of outstanding initiatives, and revitalize the sector by selecting companies demonstrating exceptional efforts. In recent years, amid significant market shifts such as declining birthrates, our group has focused on product development leveraging intellectual properties (IPs) and creating diverse touchpoints with fans. These efforts have been recognized, with BANDAI selected in the 'Large and Mid-sized Enterprises' category and MEGAHOUSE in the 'Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Diverse Fanbase Acquisition)' category. Moving forward, BANDAI and MEGAHOUSE will continue striving under the group's purpose, 'Fun for All into the Future,' to enrich people's lives through play and spread joy worldwide. ■ About the 'Top 20 Toy Industry Companies Pioneering New Frontiers' Launched by METI in FY2025 to promote the development and global competitiveness of Japan's toy industry, this new corporate recognition program selects toy-related companies demonstrating outstanding initiatives in the following three areas: 1 Global Expansion 2 Diversification of Fanbases 3 Strengthening Consumer Touchpoints The program aims to revitalize the entire industry by widely publicizing these initiatives both domestically and internationally. Both companies were primarily evaluated on the following initiatives: ■ BANDAI Co., Ltd. [Global Expansion] Overseas expansion leveraging a broad portfolio of products and services [Diversification of Fanbases] Offering IP-driven products and services to a wide global audi