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 Benesse Corporation has started implementing a range of fundamental management reforms designed to help it attain the goals in its Medium-Term Management Plan by the end of fiscal 2006.

Fiscal 2004, the current fiscal year, is the first year of this Medium-Term Management Plan. In this initial period, Benesse will seek to accelerate the pace of the plan's implementation across the Group by initiating wide-ranging organizational reforms in line with its key management policies. These reforms, effective October 1, 2004, will focus on two areas: (1) Establishing an organization to promote the Benesse Group's IT strategy, and (2) establishing an organization to formulate and implement Groupwide strategy for the English language education business.

These organizational reforms will allow Benesse to develop businesses and implement initatives in these two areas more strategically, rapidly and accurately from a Group perspective. Until now, each in-house company and Benesse subsidiary were independently responsible for these areas.


Details: Effective October 1, 2004

1. Establishment of IT Strategy Promotion Division
-Benesse will set up an IT Strategy Promotion Division to strategically drive forward product, service and marketing reforms outlined in its medium-term management policy from the perspective of IT.
-Benesse will create the position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) as the individual responsible for overseeing the optimal implementation of IT initiatives across the Benesse Group.
-Benesse will accelerate the pace of business reform and ensure every area of the Group is on the same page with regard to IT strategy by dispatching IT Strategy Promotion Division staff to each in-house company.
-As a result of organizational reforms aimed at achieving the above objectives, Benesse will wind-up its existing Information Systems & Process, Infrastructure Management Division.

2. English Language Education Strategy Promotion Division
-Benesse's strategy for its English language education business is to make GTEC(*1) and ECF(*2) the de facto standards in the industry. The English Language Education Strategy Promotion Division is being set up to develop this strategy and coordinate existing English language education businesses in order to realize this goal.
-Based on this approach, the Benesse Group will be able to offer English language education and assessment services for children, junior and senior high school students, university students and adults, underpinned by a common theory of education.

Through these organizational reforms, Benesse will actively and rapidly work to strategically realize the objectives of its Medium-Term Management Plan by the end of fiscal 2006.

(*1) Global Test of English Communication: An English language ability assessment product jointly launched by Benesse and Berlitz in September 2003.

(*2) Benesse-Berlitz English Curriculum Framework: An English language education theory unique to the Benesse Group, designed to build English communication skills based on a single, integrated approach from infancy to adulthood.