The 62nd Annual ReportApril 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024

Regarding the social and economic environment during this consolidated fiscal year (FY), while the direct impact of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) both inside and outside of Japan is subsiding, changes in consumption trends and values are having an irreversible impact on customer behavior. Furthermore, amid the continuing high inflationary trend from the previous FY, rising prices and personnel expenses due to the prolonged conflict in Ukraine are casting a shadow over economic activity. Within Japan, the yen’s depreciation from the previous FY has continued, significantly affecting the economy and corporate trends.

Amid such changes in the business environment, the Kumon Group officially launched its tablet study program “Kumon Connect” (hereinafter KC) in January 2023, initially in its overseas Center business. With KC, not only the answers but also the process of how the problem was solved can be obtained instantly and sequentially via the internet, making it possible to finely optimize individual learning, regardless of distance or time, even for learning outside the Center. Beyond the expansion of KC, our goal is to utilize the instructional skills, observation skills, and response abilities honed through the use of KC to benefit students using paper learning materials, thereby improving the learning outcomes of all students and increasing the perceived value of learning.

In the overseas Center business, the spread of KC has exceeded expectations, with the number of KC students reaching 107,182 (112.3% of the plan) as of December, the number of Centers implementing KC reaching 3,906 (116.0% of the plan), and the number of expansion countries and regions increasing to 54.
In preparation for the expansion of KC throughout Japan, we have begun monitor verification activities in our domestic Center business in April 2023 (466 monitor Centers and 6,862 KC students as of March 2024).

Starting with KC, we have strengthened our efforts to improve learning outcomes and the tangible value of learning, which is having a positive impact on our overseas Center business as a whole. In terms of results for the overseas Center business, enrollments exceeded 100% year on year in all five regions (North America, South America, Asia & Oceania, China, Europe & Africa). The number of enrollments for December combined for the five regions and the Middle East & Pakistan was 1,150,190 (year on year 104.0%), with the number of Centers at 8,177 (year on year 100.3%).

As a result of our domestic Center business, our long-standing efforts to improve customer-perceived value were reflected in our second-place ranking among the top companies in customer satisfaction scores in the educational services section of the third JCSI Japan Customer Satisfaction Index survey in the previous FY. Furthermore, measurable results are emerging in this FY. New enrollments and additions of subjects exceeded the previous year’s figures for all subjects for three consecutive months in January, February, and March (English was up for the fourth consecutive month; in March, math was 116.9%, English was 107.8%, and Kokugo was 111.3%). As a result, the cumulative totals for the FY in all three subjects (Math, English, and Kokugo) exceeded the previous year. In addition, the number of withdrawals from the program was lower than in the previous year, and the total number of enrollments in March was 1,199,039 (98.7% year on year).

At a time when corporations are being asked to contribute to achieving the SDGs and resolving social issues, Kumon has been working toward its founder’s dream of “contributing to world peace through education.” Today, Kumon is working to expand the scope and improve the quality of its contributions across all of its group businesses by supporting the education and professional development of people which are particularly important among the SDGs and social issues.

In Nepal, following a pilot introduction of KC learning in private schools, formal expansion began in April 2024. This brings the number of countries and regions where Kumon operates to 63. Ashinaga, with whom we have been working since 2022 to provide educational support to orphans in Japan, has begun introducing KC learning to orphan support facilities in the Republic of Uganda.

In Japan, through cooperation with “The 2nd Children for the Future Connect Scholarship Grant Program” launched by the Deloitte Tohmatsu Well-being Foundation, we will provide training in Kumon study instruction, learning content, and follow-up on learning instruction to organizations that run children’s cafeterias and similar initiatives.

These efforts are aimed at achieving SDG 4, “Ensure quality education for all,” and SDG 17, “Partnerships for the goals.”

To address the changing times and societal shifts, new streams of learning are spreading both inside and outside of Japan. Among these, Kumon has been focusing on streams such as the “Individual optimization of learning” and “Development of non-cognitive abilities” long before and we are striving to further evolve implementation through the aforementioned efforts to improve learning outcomes based on KC.

In addition, in response to the trend of “Developing the four English skills,” a writing test will be added to the English proficiency tests TOEFL Primary® and TOEFL Junior®, making all TOEFL® Young Student Series tests four-skill tests. The number of test takers has also been increasing since FY2020.

In response to the “STEAM education” trend, Kumon Publishing Co., Ltd. has published books on STEAM, programming, and management, aiming to provide children with knowledge that is crucial for the future. Additionally, a section called “KUMON Link” has been established within “KUMON Square,” a corner for Kumon Publishing products available at bookstores nationwide, to promote learning on these topics.

Finally, expanding the scope of our contributions to learning for all age groups will not only combat the declining birthrate but also contribute to meeting the learning needs of the “we live in the era of the 100-year-life” and creating meaning in life through learning. In particular, supporting learning for the elderly not only provides a sense of purpose in life but also contributes to maintaining and improving brain function.
The Learning Therapy Centers have launched the “Kumon Brain Training” program aimed at middle-aged and senior individuals. We aim to expand the scope of our contributions by providing concrete methods for ”dementia prevention” in response to the individual anxieties and societal issues surrounding dementia.
Kumon Lifelong Integrated Learning Co., Ltd. will launch the “Kumon Senior Penmanship and Calligraphy Center” for those aged 65 and over in April 2024. We hope to create a new community through penmanship and calligraphy, fostering ”the joy of writing beautiful characters” and “communication within the Center,” thus contributing to the regional community.

As described above, we are taking on a variety of concrete challenges while keeping an eye on the issues that must be tackled in the coming age and society and the path that Kumon should take in educational implementation and social contribution. In addition, we have been recognized as a 2024 Health and Productivity Management Excellent Corporation (Large Corporation Category) by the Japan Health Conference for the second year in a row due to our strategic implementation of initiatives to maintain and improve the health of our staff members.

As a result, consolidated sales in this FY were 87,588 million JPY, an increase of 5,529 million JPY compared with the previous FY (year-on-year increase of 6.7%). Both sales and profits increased, with operating income totaling 13,840 million JPY (year-on-year increase of 14.5%), ordinary income totaling 18,329 million JPY (year-on-year increase of 34.4%), and net income attributable to owners of the parent company totaling 13,302 million JPY (year-on-year increase of 30.1%). The increase in operating income was mainly due to an increase in the number of students at overseas consolidated subsidiaries. The increase in net income attributable to owners of the parent company was due to factors such as an increase in interest income due to rising interest rates and an increase in valuation gains on foreign currency receivables due to the weaker JPY.

As of the end of March 2024, the total number of subject enrollments worldwide was 3.55 million.

Kumon Institute of Education Co., Ltd.
President: Mitsunori Tanaka