Announcement Regarding Investment in "JR East Toyosato Sosei Inc."

Yamatané Corporation (Koto-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director and President: Iwao Kawarada) announces its investment in the new company "JR East Toyosato Sosei Inc." (Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director and President: Daisuke Takahashi, hereinafter "JR East Toyosato Sosei"), which was initiated by East Japan Railway Company (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director and President: Yoichi Kise, hereinafter "JR East"), in conjunction with YUIME Corporation (Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director and President: Kohei Ueno, hereinafter "YUIME").

▲ (From left) Yamatané's Kawarada, JR East Toyosato Sosei President Takahashi, JR East Senior Managing Director Takagi, YUIME President Ueno

### [Background and Purpose of Establishing "JR East Toyosato Sosei"]

While JR East's business area accounts for approximately half of Japan's rice cultivation acreage, the increase in abandoned farmland due to the risk of business closures accompanying the aging of producers and managers has become a major regional issue. If this trend continues, it is projected that approximately 670,000 hectares of agricultural land and other areas (about 1.34 million hectares nationwide) in just one prefecture and 16 prefectures within the JR East area could become uncultivated in 10 years*.

In response to this situation, JR East conceived this project from "ON1000," an in-house open innovation program for new business creation. A new company was established with the aim of building a sustainable agricultural production system through farmland consolidation and the introduction of new technologies to improve productivity, thereby contributing to the improvement of Japan's food self-sufficiency.

*1 Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries "Status of Regional Plan Formulation (as of April 2025)", agricultural land and other areas include agricultural facilities such as livestock barns and communal facilities.

### [About "JR East Toyosato Sosei"'s Business]

JR East Toyosato Sosei will work to ensure the business continuity of regional agricultural corporations by investing in and providing management support to agricultural corporations, etc., that have a certain production scale but face challenges in continuing their businesses due to aging. By using these invested agricultural corporations as bases, it will undertake the lease and production consignment of surrounding farmlands that also face the risk of closure and abandonment, thereby building a sustainable management system through economies of scale achieved by farmland consolidation. The goal is to reach a cultivated area of 1,500 hectares in the future.

### [Our Company's Background for Participating in This Project]

Since its establishment in 1924 (Taisho 13), the Yamatané Group has built strong relationships by collaborating with production areas nationwide to provide "safe," "secure," and "delicious" rice. Our corporate message is "Supporting Continuity." Our sustainability policy is to support the "continuity" of all stakeholders and to work towards a sustainable society throughout the entire value chain. To achieve this, we advocate for "the development of regional communities, production areas, and agriculture," promoting businesses that contribute to the realization of sustainable agriculture, such as grouping agricultural production corporations and accumulating agricultural management know-how.

This time, to further accelerate our efforts towards sustainable farming, we have decided to participate in the investment in JR East Toyosato Sosei. By leveraging the procurement and distribution network cultivated through our collaboration with production areas as a rice wholesaler, and various knowledge and measures regarding agricultural management, we will provide support from production to distribution, working with JR East and YUIME to establish a sustainable agricultural model.

### [About Each Company]

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) is a social infrastructure company that operates a wide range of businesses, including railway operations, distribution, services, and real estate, primarily in the East Japan area. To realize its Group Management Vision "Yushō 2034" which states "Bringing vitality to regions and enriching Japan," the company is also addressing regional issues such as the shortage of rice farmers and the increase in abandoned farmland, which are major industries in its business area.

YUIME Corporation is a company specializing in human resources and information support for primary industries. In its human resource support services, which have been operating since 2013, it has established a unique support system that links production areas to build a mechanism to continuously support production sites nationwide that suffer from labor shortages. Currently, it boasts top-class results in the industry as a pioneering human resource support company that has secured short-term labor during peak seasons nationwide.

### [Overview of the Investee Company]

Company Name: JR East Toyosato Sosei Inc.
Location: THE LINKPILLAR 1 NORTH 6F, 2-21-1 Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo, TAKANAWA GATEWAY Link Scholars’ Hub (LiSH) Studio1
Representative: Representative Director and President Daisuke Takahashi
Investment Ratio: East Japan Railway Company, Yamatané Corporation, YUIME Corporation, and 3 other proposers
Capital, etc.: 400 million yen
Established: April 28, 2026
Business Activities: Investment in agricultural corporations, management support business, consulting business
URL: https://j-toyosat