Saga's Potential Unlocked: Human Resource Development & Business Creation Program "UNDERLINE" Launched! Kick-off Event to be Held!

RYO-FU BASE (Saga Prefectural Industrial Promotion Center, Saga Sangyo Mirai Sozo Base) is launching a new program called "UNDERLINE" to promote human resource development and business creation, fostering new challenges and value creation in the region, such as entrepreneurship and side businesses.

This program aims to discover the potential hidden in Saga, starting with "challenges," and to promote new business creation and enhance regional value by supporting the activities of motivated individuals and local players.

Background and Features of This Program

To mark the full launch of this program, a kick-off event will be held. It will feature sessions by practitioners who transform regional resources into value, and a large networking event where participants can meet like-minded peers.

In Saga, there are individuals with a strong desire to take on challenges, but who lack sufficient opportunities and connections. This program aims to visualize these latent seeds of challenge and support them through "three contents," leading to new business creation in the region.

1. Basic Courses and Seminars We will offer basic business courses and three seminars (side business, entrepreneurship, startup) that accompany participants through their challenges. 2. Community We will provide a self-sustaining network where participants can connect with like-minded peers, instructors, senior entrepreneurs, and local companies, and mutually enhance each other. 3. Practical Application We will implement honed skills and business ideas through the introduction of exclusive projects for those aspiring to side businesses, and ideathons exploring collaboration with local companies.

Kick-off Event Outline

1. Date: Monday, June 1, Reiwa 8 (2026), 3:00 PM - 8:00 PM *Entry and exit permitted during the event 2. Venue: SAGA CHIKA (Saga Prefectural Office B1F, 1-1-59 Jonai, Saga City, Saga Prefecture) 3. Capacity: 70 people 4. Participation Fee: Free 5. Target Audience: Those interested in side businesses, entrepreneurship, new businesses, and businesses utilizing regional resources in Saga, among others. 6. Content

(1) Timetable

15:00-15:10 Opening Remarks by Organizer 15:10-15:50 Keynote Speech: "Why Challenge from Saga Now?" 15:50-16:00 Break 16:00-16:45 Session 1 [Scale]: How to Create a Business Valued by Listed Companies 16:45-17:00 Break 17:00-17:45 Session 2 [Social]: Cultivating the Region, Creating Culture 17:45-18:00 Break 18:00-18:45 Session 3 [Side Business]: Transforming Individual Skills into Regional Power 18:45-19:00 Summary and Explanation of This Year's Program 19:00-20:00 Meetup Networking Event & Seminar-specific Consultation Booths

(2) Guests

① [Keynote Speech] Why Challenge from Saga Now? What is the "perspective" for launching a business aiming for national and global reach from a regional area? They will speak about the challenges faced in the process of creating something from scratch and the source of will that overcame them.

<Guest> Shoichi Yamashita / Founder & Chairman, Peraichi Inc. Born in Saga Prefecture in 1983. Graduated from Hiroshima University Graduate School of Science, majoring in Mathematics. Founder of 'Peraichi,' which aims for an era of 100 million people utilizing the internet, starting with the world's easiest web page creation service used by 700,000 companies and individuals through word-of-mouth. Also serves as GM and owner of the international professional baseball team "Saga Asia Dreams," and has founded and operates multiple innovative companies in diverse fields such as information security, fisheries, and DX promotion. Participates in national initiatives such as projects in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, and is dedicated to advising local governments and promoting administrative reform. Currently holds representative, executive, advisory, and shareholder positions in over 100 corporations, local governments, and projects, continuing activities with the vision of "all people achieving independent happiness and realizing permanent peace."

② [Session 1: Scale] How to Create a Business Valued by Listed Companies Practitioners with experience in startup business growth and exit strategies will speak. They will unravel strategic thinking for accurately grasping the market and growing a business, and the realities of management decisions.

<Guest> Shosuke Tanaka / Founder, Gangnam Doll Inc. After working as a reporter for Weekly Asahi and Aeradot, and as a business manager, he founded Gangnam Doll Inc., a Korean beauty startup, in 2021. The company operates Korean beauty tourism, information media, and sells beauty appliances and skincare brands. In 2023, it was acquired by a listed company group. He served as a subsidiary president and department head. Currently, as the New Business Development Manager in the CEO's Office at Algomatic Inc., a DMM Group company, he is responsible for launching new businesses centered on generative AI, supporting the introduction of generative AI to enterprise companies, and M&A.

<Moderator> Naohiro Fuda / Treasure Inc.