Regarding Reports in Certain Media

Although there have been media reports on January 16 referencing remarks by Masayuki Hyodo, our President and CEO, with respect to Berkshire Hathaway (hereafter “the Investor”), a U.S. institutional investor, potentially increasing its stake in the shares of five Japanese trading companies, we wish to clarify that the remarks were mentioned and stated as a "possibility." The most current information we have about the Investor’s shareholding ratio is 8.23% based on the shareholding report filed by a subsidiary of the Investor as of June 19, 2023 (which reported shareholding ratio is based on the issued shares prior to the cancellation of treasury stock in July 2023).