Leifras Celebrates 25th Anniversary, Setting Vision for Becoming Global Infrastructure Through "Sports and Social"
Rhea-AI Summary
Leifras (Nasdaq: LFS) marked its 25th anniversary on August 28, 2026, outlining a long-term vision to build sustainable education, sports, and social infrastructure. Founded in 2001, the company now operates children's sports schools and club activity support across all 47 prefectures in Japan, with about 70,700 members as of December 2025.
According to Leifras, it ranks No. 1 nationally in children's sports school membership and in school club activity support, serving 381 schools and 2,120 clubs. Following its October 2025 Nasdaq listing, Leifras plans to explore international expansion of its non-cognitive skills education model and deepen public-private community services including daycare, facility management, and elderly healthcare.
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Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27 | Community club contract | Positive | +0.5% | New Chiba City contract covered 57 activities across 19 junior high schools. |
| Aug 26 | Trading access update | Positive | -1.7% | Nasdaq planned 23-hour weekday trading beginning December 6, 2026, subject to SEC approval. |
| Aug 25 | Auditor appointment | Neutral | +1.8% | Forvis Mazars Japan Audit LLC was appointed as the independent registered public accounting firm. |
| Aug 20 | School club contract | Positive | +4.9% | Nagakute City awarded a contract covering three junior high schools through August 2029. |
| Aug 19 | Anniversary family event | Neutral | +0.0% | Leifras hosted Family Day 2026 for about 60 back-office employees and their families. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Recent reactions were generally aligned with positive or neutral announcements, while Nasdaq trading-access news was a divergence.
Key Terms
non-cognitive skills technical
nasdaq capital market financial
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Operating Across All 47 Prefectures in
Founded in 2001, Leifras has been dedicated to fostering children's "non-cognitive skills" through sports. Today, the Company operates across all 47 prefectures in
In October 2025, the Company completed its initial listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Positioning its 25th anniversary as a new starting point, the Company intends to leverage its nationwide foundation and expertise to explore opportunities to expand its social undertakings into international markets.
At this milestone, the Company expresses its sincere gratitude to all stakeholders who have supported it to date and announces a new vision for the next 25 years: establishing sustainable education, sports, and social infrastructure.
Growth Journey: 25 Years of Changing Conventional Coaching in
The Company was founded in 2001 in response to strong concerns about coaching practices that were common in the sports world at the time, including excessive emphasis on technical ability and winning, as well as corporal punishment and harsh reprimands. The Company believed that to enrich children's lives, sports could play an important role by cultivating "non-cognitive skills (strength of heart)"—such as greetings, courtesy, leadership, and cooperation—that may develop strength and social resiliency in children. Under the coaching philosophy of "acknowledge, praise, encourage, and motivate," the Company created an entirely new educational sports model in which specialized professional instructors (full-time employees) systematically recognize and develop these values. The Company believes that this approach has resonated with many parents and educators and, over the past 25 years, has enabled the Company to expand its business to all 47 prefectures in
Current Strengths:
The Company's "instructor platform," its nationwide network of trained, full-time professional sports instructors, refined over the Company's 25-year history, together with rigorous safety management and a sophisticated governance framework, now serves as a major platform and solution for the "regional transition of school club activities," a national policy initiative gaining momentum in
Future Outlook: Two Visions for the Next Quarter-Century, for the World and Local Communities
Having reached the milestone of its 25th anniversary, Leifras is now setting a course toward the establishment of even broader "education, sports, and social infrastructure" over the next 25 years.
Bringing Japan-Born Non-Cognitive Skills Education to Children Around the World
Leveraging its 2025 Nasdaq listing, the Company aims to explore opportunities to bring its "non-cognitive skills development method" beyond its maturing domestic market to children throughout
Establishing an Inclusive and Sustainable Public-Private "Social Infrastructure"
The Company is dedicated to further deepening synergies among its school sports business, school club activity support business, and other social businesses, including after-school daycare services, facility management services, and elderly healthcare services. Together with local governments and companies, the Company aims to build an "inclusive community infrastructure" throughout
Message from Mr. Kiyotaka Ito, Representative Director and Chief Executive Officer of Leifras
"Since Leifras was founded in 2001, we have worked to nurture children's hearts through sports and have endeavored to enrich their lives. Reaching this 25th anniversary milestone would not have been possible without our members and parents who have trusted and supported us over many years, our partners, including local governments, schools, and communities, and our employees across
"Over the past 25 years, our business, which began with sports schools, has expanded into school club activity support, social businesses, facility management, elderly healthcare, and other areas. Today, Leifras stands at a new starting line for the next 25 years.
"Going forward, under our corporate philosophy of 'To Change and Design Sports,' we will stay true to the commitment we have held since our founding to fostering children's non-cognitive skills, while working to solve challenges faced by communities and society through sports and education. We also hope to explore opportunities to bring the expertise and value we have cultivated in
"Our 25th anniversary is not a goal, but a new starting point toward the future. With gratitude to everyone who has supported us, we will continue taking on challenges so that we can remain a company that contributes to the future of people and society."
On the 25th Anniversary
On its 25th anniversary, the Company reflects on its journey to date while reaffirming its connections with all stakeholders who have supported it—including employees and their families, members and parents, and local communities—and will advance initiatives toward its next stage of growth.
About LEIFRAS Co., Ltd.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Leifras is a sports and social business company dedicated to youth sports and community engagement. The Company primarily provides services related to the organization and operations of sports schools and sports events for children. As of December 31, 2025, Leifras was recognized as one of Japan's largest operators of children's sports schools in terms of both membership and facilities by Tokyo Shoko Research. The Company's approach to sports education emphasizes the development of non-cognitive skills, following the teaching principle "acknowledge, praise, encourage, and motivate." The holistic approach that integrates physical and mental development sets Leifras apart in the industry. Building upon deep experience and know-how in sports education, Leifras also operates a robust social business sector, dispatching sports coaches to meet various community needs with the aim to promote physical health, social inclusion, and community well-being across different demographics.
For more information, please visit the Company's website: https://ir.leifras.co.jp/.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company's current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs. Investors can find many (but not all) of these statements by the use of words such as "approximates," "believes," "hopes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "projects," "intends," "plans," "will," "would," "should," "could," "may," or other similar expressions in this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks, including, but not limited to, the uncertainties related to market conditions, and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the annual report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the annual report and other filings with the SEC. Additional factors are discussed in the Company's filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov.
For more information, please contact:
LEIFRAS Co., Ltd.
Investor Relations Department
Email: IR@leifras.co.jp
Ascent Investor Relations LLC
Tina Xiao
Phone: +1-646-932-7242
Email: investors@ascent-ir.com
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SOURCE LEIFRAS Co., Ltd.