[Rakuten Eagles] Gifting 'Rakuten Eagles Caps' to 52,120 Incoming First Graders at 1,649 Schools in 6 Tohoku Prefectures

Rakuten Baseball, Inc. (Headquarters: Miyagino-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture; President and CEO: Masayuki Morii) announces that as part of 'TOHOKU SMILE ACTION'—an initiative to nurture children's dreams and deliver energy and inspiration to the people of Tohoku through baseball and sports—they will be gifting 'Rakuten Eagles Caps' to incoming first graders in the six Tohoku prefectures to commemorate their school entrance. With the cooperation of the six Tohoku prefectures and municipal boards of education, this initiative began in 2014 and enters its 13th year. In 2026, caps will be presented to 52,120 incoming first graders at 1,649 schools (including national, public, private, and special support schools) across Tohoku. Furthermore, in 2026, Rakuten Eagles Ambassador Ginji, Takero Okajima, members of the official cheerleaders Tohoku Golden Angels, and the official team mascot will visit one elementary school in each of the six Tohoku prefectures to hold a presentation ceremony during the school entrance ceremony. ■ The Wish Behind the 'Rakuten Eagles Cap' In the 2013 season, the Rakuten Eagles won their first Japan Championship in their 9th year since the team's founding. Everyone from the manager, coaches, and players to the team staff and employees realized that the warm and passionate support from the people who love Tohoku was the driving force of the team. This renewed their desire to 'invigorate Tohoku through sports', which led to this initiative. We present the 'Rakuten Eagles Cap' with the hope that elementary school students in the six Tohoku prefectures can commute to school energetically every day and spend their six years happily with their friends. ■ Number of Presents (As of April 2): Total for 6 Tohoku Prefectures: 1,649 schools / 52,120 people Aomori Prefecture [246 schools / 7,153 people] Akita Prefecture [174 schools / 4,727 people] Iwate Prefecture [261 schools / 7,016 people] Yamagata Prefecture [230 schools / 6,622 people] Miyagi Prefecture [357 schools / 15,161 people] Fukushima Prefecture [381 schools / 11,441 people] [Reference] Actual Number of 'Rakuten Eagles Cap' Presents *6 Tohoku Prefectures 2014 [2,114 schools / 74,877 people] 2015 [2,059 schools / 72,275 people] 2016 [1,991 schools / 71,731 people] 2017 [1,952 schools / 69,987 people] 2018 [1,917 schools / 67,437 people] 2019 [1,856 schools / 64,657 people] 2020 [1,791 schools / 66,264 people] 2021 [1,788 schools / 67,129 people] 2022 [1,673 schools / 60,798 people] 2023 [1,667 schools / 58,521 people] 2024 [1,668 schools / 57,158 people] 2025 [1,691 schools / 55,528 people] Total [22,167 schools / 786,362 people]