February 7, 2022
Benesse Holdings Co, Inc.

FY2021 3Q Results Q&A Summary

We have prepared answers to some of the questions we anticipate fromshareholders and investors regarding the announcement of FY2021 3Q results.
Please refer to them in conjunction with the supplementary materials.

Overall results
1. Were 3Q results in line with your targets?
As a whole, both sales and profits surpassed our targets.
2. 3Q cumulative operating income (nine months ended December
31, 2021) was ¥23.2 billion, greatly exceeding the full year
forecast of ¥17.5 billion. Will there be an upward revision in thefull year forecast?
In 4Q marketing activities normally ramp up towards the start of thenew school year in the education business and Kodomo Challengebusiness in Japan. Accordingly, marketing costs increase and profit
tends to be low. Also, occupancy rates are lower than our initial
estimates in the nursing care business due to the impact of COVID-19,
and we anticipate an increase in IT and digital related investment.
Therefore, we have not changed our operating income forecast.

Education Business in Japan
3. What is the situation for 3Q cumulative?
All segments have surpassed targets and recovered to pre-COVID-19
FY2019 levels.
4. What is the current status of Shinkenzemi enrollment?
Tablet UI/UX upgrades and efforts to promote utilization have been1

successful and the retention rate was improving from October.
However, new enrollment and retention have been on a deteriorating
trend since January. We believe this is the result of sudden changes atschools, including an increase in school events, a return to regularlessons, and increased homework as the COVID-19 situation calmed
down from October. We are making efforts to recover through additional
investment in marketing to stabilize enrollment in April, the start of thenew school year.
5. What is the situation in the School and Teacher Support
Business?
Business is steadily recovering from the impact of COVID-19. Also, with
progress in the GIGA School Project* for elementary and junior highschools, the number of elementary and junior high schools using Mirai
Seed software is steadily growing.
*GIGA School Project: The effort started by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology, in 2019. It is aimed to develop a learning environment with acomputer terminal for each child / student nationwide, a high-speed network and cloud.

6. What is the situation in the Cram schools/Classroom business︖
Up to 3Q, business has been recovering from the impact of COVID-19.
This is a period when new enrollment increases ahead of the new school
year, and we are currently paying close attention to the impact of thespread of the Omicron variant.
Kids & Family
7. What is the situation for Kodomo Challenge in Japan?
The YoY decline in enrollment numbers in the Kodomo Challengebusiness in Japan has been worsening since the beginning of FY2021.
We believe one reason for that is the reduced opportunity for hands-onexperience with Kodomo Challenge due to the spread of COVID-19. We
are making efforts to recover by increasing opportunities to experience
Kodomo Challenge through hands-on teaching materials and events.

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8. Kodomo Challenge business in China
There has been no significant change since 2Q. We are working totransform the business model to respond to the rapid changes in thebusiness environment, such as a declining birth rate, intensifying
competition, and regulations for education companies.
Nursing Care and Childcare
9. What is the current occupancy rate situation?
Occupancy rates are falling, centering on more expensive nursing homes,
as a result of COVID-19. The number of cases settled down from
October and following the lifting of the declaration of a state ofemergency in Tokyo and other regions, occupancy rates have been on
a rising trend. However, the Omicron variant is currently spreading, andwe are closely watching the impact.
Berlitz
10. What is the current situation?
3Q cumulative sales increased in the Language Instruction business as
the number of lessons recovered YoY. However, sales continued to fallin the Overseas Study Support business due to the impact of COVID-19,
and in real terms excluding the effect of foreign exchange rates, sales
declined. In contrast, the operating loss improved significantly YoY
thanks to cost reductions.
Both net sales and operating income are on track with our targets.

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