Participation in the 'Noto Region High School Student Entrepreneurship Education Business Plan Presentation'

Astena Holdings Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Satoshi Setoguchi) participated in the 'Noto Region High School Student Entrepreneurship Education Business Plan Presentation' held at Rapia Kashima (Nakanoto-machi, Kashima-gun, Ishikawa Prefecture) on Friday, March 6, 2026, as part of the 'Enterprise-linked Entrepreneurship Education Promotion Project' promoted by the Ishikawa Prefectural Board of Education.

Since FY2021, our company has been involved in entrepreneurship education for high school students in the Noto region. This project aims to help high school students develop problem-solving skills and civic pride by challenging them to create business plans aimed at solving regional issues, ultimately supporting them to proactively choose to continue living in the Noto region by creating their own places of work in the future. At this presentation, high school students from 7 schools in the Noto region presented business plans for solving local problems.

Overview of FY2025 Initiatives Continuing from last year, 7 schools in the Noto region (Iida High School, Noto High School, Anamizu High School, Wajima High School, Monzen High School, Shika High School, and Rokusei High School) participated in FY2025, and representative teams selected from each school worked on creating business plans.

Until last year, an intensive one-week program was held in-person, but for FY2025, it was transformed into a year-round event centered on online activities. Although there were communication difficulties unique to online interactions, taking advantage of the long-term initiative allowed for multiple fieldwork sessions, resulting in some high schools producing more persuasive business plans.

At this presentation, representative teams from each school presented the results of their six-month-long activities. The audience showed great interest in the many business ideas that delved deeply into regional issues and were refined with the unique perspectives and free thinking of high school students.

Atmosphere at the Venue 《Judges》 *Titles omitted, in Japanese alphabetical order - Keitaro Iwaki (Director, Astena Holdings Co., Ltd.) - Toru Kawaba (Investment Business Manager, QR Investment Co., Ltd.) - Mikiko Nagai (Representative Director, Hokuriku Mirai Fund) - Akihiro Nomura (Professor, Frontier Science Organization / Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University Hospital, Kanazawa University) - Tadateru Mitani (President and CEO, Mitani Sangyo Co., Ltd.)

《Award Results》 (Table omitted)