Professional Tech Capital Invests in Personal Guarantor Service Provider Akarihosho

　Bengo4.com, Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and CEO: Taichiro Motoe; hereafter the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its CVC, Professional Tech Capital—which provides active funding support and growth support for startups and venture companies in the professional domain—has invested in Akarihosho Co., Ltd. (hereafter “Akarihosho”), which provides personal guarantor services (including lifetime support for senior citizens). The impact of this development on business results for the current fiscal year is insignificant.
 
■ Background of this investment
　Akarihosho provides personal guarantor services, monitoring and financial management services, and after-death services, with the vision of transforming personal guarantor services.
Personal guarantor services are guarantor services for people who have no family or relatives they can rely on. The service provider acts as a personal guarantor or joint guarantor on the person’s behalf. Although demand for personal guarantor services is increasing due to factors such as the increase in the number of senior citizens living alone, there are currently no supervising ministries / agencies or laws in place. There have been a steady stream of problems surrounding contracts between users and service providers, and it is becoming a social issue. Akarihosho has established a system that enables users to use its services with peace of mind while utilizing technology to solve these issues, and provides its services in compliance with national guidelines.
　The Company made its decision to invest in Akarihosho with a view to future business collaboration, as its area of business is close to the business area of services for lawyers in which the Company operates.
 
■ Purpose of the investment
　With “Be the Professional-Tech Company” as its corporate mission, Bengo4.com has been expanding its business, with a primary focus on Bengoshi.com, one of Japan’s largest legal consultation portal sites, and the contract management platform CloudSign. As a strategy for the next stage of its growth, Bengo4.com is driving the creation of a strategy based on a group of specialized services and products geared toward the legal field, including contract-related services and legal research services, which we refer to as LaaS (Legal as a Service).
　As part of this strategy, Bengo4.com is investing actively in startup companies, aiming to achieve further growth and expansion of business areas using technologies and knowledge in specialist fields, including the legal field.

■ About Professional Tech Capital
　Professional Tech Capital provides talent support and business support to entrepreneurs and start-ups in professional trade industries in addition to investing with its own funds.

■ About Akarihosho Co., Ltd.
Company name：　Akarihosho Co., Ltd.
Representative：　Yuki Shimizu (attorney)
Established：　July 8, 2024
Address：　503, MST Minamimorimachi Building, 1-3-29 Minamimorimachi, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka
Business outline：　Provides personal guarantor services (guarantee of debts, emergency response, and taking custody, etc.) in compliance with government guidelines, as a group of trusted professionals that includes lawyers, judicial scriveners, and care managers.
Corporate website：　https://www.akarihosho.jp/