Weathernews INTRODUCES EMPLOYEE STOCK PLAN TO BOOST PERFORMANCE

TOKYO, Jul 09 (Pulse News Wire) – Weathernews Inc. (4825.T) decided to implement an employee stock incentive plan called “Stock Grant ESOP Trust” during a board meeting held on July 09, 2026.

The initiative aims to enhance employees' motivation towards achieving performance goals and increasing corporate value while fostering shared value creation with shareholders. Under this program, the company will allocate shares worth ¥831,422,000 to the ESOP trust. The trust, modeled after the US Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), will distribute company shares and cash equivalents based on predefined regulations to eligible employees who meet certain criteria. The funds for acquiring these shares will be fully contributed by the company without any burden on the employees.

The introduction of this scheme is expected to boost employees’ productivity and align their interests with shareholder gains through increased awareness of share price movements. Additionally, the trust’s management structure ensures that the voting rights associated with the company's shares within the trust reflect the beneficiaries' preferences, promoting active participation in corporate governance. The ESOP trust will commence operations on July 24, 2026 and will run until the end of July 2031. Detailed arrangements concerning the allocation of self-owned shares to the ESOP trust are available in the company’s separate announcement released on the same day.