News Release
Cool Japan Fund Inc.
Tokyo, April 21, 2016

Investing in a house sharing marketplace service capable for foreign tourists to Japan

Cool Japan Fund has decided to invest 300 million yen in Hyakusen Renma Co., Ltd. (hereinafter,Hyakusen Renma), a pioneer in house sharing marketplace. This investment will serve as a growthfund for business expansion aimed at increasing the use of this service among foreign tourists to Japan.
Through this investment, Cool Japan Fund aims to help bring innovation to the tourism industry inJapan, strengthening its international competitiveness and vitalizing regions through tourism, while
cultivating new inbound demand with the widespread use of Hyakusen Renma's house sharing
platform by foreign tourists to Japan.

“The Tourism Vision to Support the Future of Japan”, which was announced by the government thisMarch, sets a new target of attracting 40 million foreign tourists by 2020 (the initial goal was 20 millionvisitors), indicating the national commitment to “a tourism-oriented developed nation” by supporting
tourism and helping it become a key industry. This approach requires a review of all kinds of systems,
improvement in productivity and development, and improvement in the environment for accepting
foreign tourists, with an eye on the healthy development of the house sharing service that utilizes
residential houses.
Focusing attention on house sharing from an early stage, Hyakusen Renma has been running its
accommodation intermediate service Tomarina (Note 1-<1>) since 2014 under the concept of"Experience the countryside". Operating in line with the aims of the Act on Promotion of Developmentof Infrastructures for Leisure Stay in Rural Areas, this service arranges house sharing reservations,providing tourists with opportunities to stay in farmhouses in rural areas and experience agriculture
and fishing work or enjoy local festivals and events.

Inquiries regarding this document:
Cool Japan Fund (Yuge/Okuyama, PR) Tel: 03-6406-7500

In accordance with Article 13 of the National Strategic Special Zones Law, the ban on house sharing
business in Ota-ku, Tokyo was lifted for the extended-stay this year in January. Following the liftingof the ban, the company launched the house sharing marketplace STAY JAPAN (Note 1-<2>) to providea house sharing reservation service that utilized the previously stated business know-how in line withthis law. The service will also cover accommodations in Osaka Prefecture, where the ban was lifted
this April, and other local communities.
Cool Japan Fund has decided to invest 300 million yen in Hyakusen Renma, a pioneer in providing
house sharing marketplace service. This investment will serve as a growth fund for business expansion
aimed at increasing the use of this service among foreign tourists to Japan through overseas marketing
activities and the creation of a multilingual website.
Cool Japan Fund aims to overcome the acute shortage of accommodation in urban areas by expanding
the use of the law-abiding house sharing platform provided by Hyakusen Renma, and to cultivate new
inbound demand by encouraging foreign tourists who are familiar with living in share spaces to visit
Japan. Through this investment, Cool Japan Fund aims to help bring innovation to the tourism industry
in Japan, strengthen its international competitiveness, and vitalize regions with tourism.
[Notes](Note 1-<1> and <2>) Tomarina and STAY JAPAN are the services provided by TOMARERU, Inc., a 100%-owned subsidiary ofHyakusen Renma.

[About Hyakusen Renma Co., Ltd.]
Established

June 2012

Location

Sendai City, Miyagi PrefecturePresident

Yasuhiro Kamiyama

Main BusinessHouse sharing marketplace service, consulting, IT, training,sports tourism

Hyakusen Renma website

http://www.hyakuren.org/

・Website offering STAY JAPAN service

https://stayjapan.com/*about STAY JAPAN・Website offering Tomarina service

https://stayjapan.com/info/about/hosthttps://tomarina.com/Inquiries regarding this document:
Cool Japan Fund (Yuge/Okuyama, PR) Tel: 03-6406-7500