MOL, NODE Form Capital Tie-up to Expand Foreign HR Initiatives
- Stepping up Japanese Companies' Hiring of Foreign Employees -

January 17, 2025

TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto) today announced the formation of a capital alliance with NODE Inc. (President: Kenta Watanabe; Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Note1) through a third-party allocation of shares; under the agreement, MOL will acquire the equivalent of 67% of NODE's shares.

MOL began using NODE's talent scouting and matching platform "Sunrise" in May of last year, and in November, the companies signed a business alliance agreement. MOL also intends to strengthen its base of business operations in the global human resources (HR) consulting business by combining NODE's platform and talent base with its customer base.

Through this capital alliance, MOL will further strengthen its relationship with NODE, and NODE will expand its business beyond its established fields, aiming to further expand its customer base while focusing on enhancing its platform's capabilities and acquiring talent. Through this capital alliance, MOL will strategically promote the introduction of foreign personnel through various media and educational institutions by utilizing the human resources platform. At the same time it will work to gain the trust of its customers by increasing the diversity of personnel introduced and building a solid track record. Furthermore, MOL will offer reliable, high-quality foreign HR services by newly establishing a registered support organization (Note 2) business, so Japanese companies can use the recruitment of foreign nationals as a new compass for their corporate growth.

MOL will use this alliance to strengthen the competitiveness of its global HR consulting business by sharing its management resources, customer base, and so on, and contribute to the creation of a prosperous future by supporting people's daily lives as a global social infrastructure company.

[Outline of NODE Inc.]

Name	NODE Inc.
Established	March 2014
Paid-in capital	8.704 million yen
President	Kenta Watanabe
No. of employees	10 (as of December 2024)
Location of headquarters	4F No.2 Precisa Building, 4-8-4 Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8332
Business	Employment placement business specializing in foreign human resources Specific skill-related business (registered support organization) Operation of job-seeking and recruiting platforms, etc.
Background of business	Started with a focus on job placement for foreign students, mainly from Southeast Asia. Currently introducing foreign personnel with status of residence and specified skills in occupational fields such as technology, humanities, and international business. In addition, the company has been approved as a registered support organization and launched "Sunrise," a platform that matches human resources and companies, in 2021. (Sunrise registrants: 2,309 persons, Number of jobs: 1,883, as of December 2024)

(Note 1) NODE official website: NODE Inc. (nodejpn.com)

(Note 2) Registered support organization: An organization that is commissioned by a company hiring personnel with specific skills based on a support plan. The support covers a wide range of activities, including the development of a support system, various types of support for companies and employees, and reporting on the status of support to the government. The implementation of this support is legally required, and more than 90% of host companies in Japan outsource their support to NODE.

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MOL Group 5 Sustainability Issues
MOL Group identifies "Sustainability Issues" (Materiality) as our key issues for sustainable growth with society through realization of the Group Vision. We anticipate this initiative to contribute especially to the realization of "Human & Community -Contributing to the growth and development of people and communities-."