uSonar Begins Providing Corporate Data Compliant with the Japan Standard Industrial Classification
~Responding to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' First Revision in 10 Years, with the Practical "Ryo-Gyoshu" Industry Classification Also Well-Received~

uSonar Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Nami Fukutomi; President: Katsuhito Nagatake; hereinafter "uSonar") is pleased to announce that it has updated its corporate data items to comply with the "Japan Standard Industrial Classification (notified in July 2023)" enacted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in April 2024. Following the Ministry's first revision in 10 years, uSonar has implemented these updates across its provided data (LBC). Concurrently, uSonar has also revised its proprietary "Ryo-Gyoshu" industry classification, which consists of 779 categories tailored to corporate needs. uSonar remains committed to providing data based on highly useful industry classifications while maintaining compliance with standard industrial classifications.

What Is the Japan Standard Industrial Classification?

The Japan Standard Industrial Classification was established in 1949. Currently, all industries in Japan are categorized into approximately 1,455 industry types. In addition to being used as a standard for official statistics, it influences a wide range of corporate practices, such as the classification and aggregation of business partners.

This marks the first revision in approximately 10 years since the previous one in 2013, and the new classification was enacted in April 2024. For more details, please visit the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications website.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Website: https://www.soumu.go.jp/toukei_toukatsu/index/seido/sangyo/R05index.htm

Explanation of Key Points of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification Revision (Excerpt) and Changes to Our Corporate Codes

We believe this revision reflects changes in the socio-economic landscape, including decarbonization, amendments to the Electricity Business Act, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The following are examples of the key revision points.

• The "Electric Furnace and Electric Heating Equipment Manufacturing" category has been newly established to track initiatives such as decarbonization.
• 100-yen shops and similar businesses are now addressed. Previously, "Uniform Price Stores" lacked specific examples in the industrial classification and were scattered across multiple categories; a new category has been established for them.
• Following the amendment of the Electricity Business Act and the full liberalization of electricity retail, electricity business types have been broadly categorized into "Power Generation," "Power Transmission and Distribution," and "Electricity Retail." Consequently, "Power Plants" and "Substations" have been divided into "Power Generation Business," "Power Transmission and Distribution Business," "Electricity Retail Business," and "Electricity Wholesale Business."
• The "Pest Control Business" has been newly established to track trends as a field of public health, driven by the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

uSonar's proprietary industry classification, the highly acclaimed "Ryo-Gyoshu" (Quality Industry Classification), is also available.

As mentioned above, while the Japan Standard Industrial Classification accurately and minutely categorizes all industries, it has been criticized for being difficult to use in business practice due to the high frequency of "Other" categories and the long interval between revisions (approximately every 10 years), which makes it difficult to classify emerging industries. For this reason, we have long developed and provided our own proprietary industry classification, "Ryo-Gyoshu." Ryo-Gyoshu consists of 779 industry categories (as of February 1, 2023).

Examples of Ryo-Gyoshu:

• Consolidating sub-industries that are considered too granular in the Japan Standard Industrial Classification into forms better suited to the business environment.
• Dividing industries that are grouped together in the Japan Standard Industrial Classification but have been determined to require further segmentation due to rapid growth.
• Industry categories are defined based on social norms, business environments, news information, industry associations, and business licenses. We consider flexible integration or segmentation should business structures or other factors change.