NKC Requests your Participation in International Youth Baseball Survey


Tokyo -- April 22, 2004

Nagase Kenko Corporation (NKC) requests your participation in the following survey regarding international youth baseball. To access a questionnaire, which should take about 15 minutes to complete, please visit: http://www.kenkobaseball.com/Baseball_Survey. It is requested that all replies be received by the evening of May 3, 2004.

“NKC introduced the Kenko AirSafety Baseball in Japan about eighty years ago. Over 6 billion balls have been sold – without a single serious injury. It is now used by most Japanese children until their high school years,” noted Yasuhiko Nagase, Executive Vice President of NKC. “Over the past decade, however, we have been seeing growing interest in other countries and today you can find the ball being used in Asia, North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australia/New Zealand.”

“NKC invites league officials, coaches, parents, players, distributors, team dealers, retailers and other interested parties to forward their opinions and comments to help develop a better understanding of the growing number of people showing an interest in international youth baseball,” commented Keith W. Rabin, President of KWR International, Inc., a public relations firm assisting NKC in this endeavor. “This will help to promote greater participation in the sport and to create linkages among players and teams around the world.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Nagase Kenko Corporation is a global, multi-line sporting goods company. In addition to its AirSafety and Universal Regulation baseballs, NKC markets a wide range of sporting good products and services through its Team Sports and Tennis, Sports Flooring and Gymnastics Equipment and International Sales and Marketing divisions.

Presently employing a staff of over 250 individuals, NKC maintains four Japanese manufacturing facilities and three regional sales offices in Osaka, Fukuoka and Hokkaido. It also maintains a growing network of agents, distributors and representatives who help to manage its international sales and marketing and promotional activities.

For more information on NKC and Kenko products and services, please visit: http://www.kenkobaseball.com

To read an interview with Japanese Baseball Legend Eiichiro Yamamoto, please visit: http://www.kenkobaseball.com/press.html

Contact:
Alex Rabin
KWR International, Inc.
Tel. +1-212-532-3005
Fax. +1-212-685-2413
E-mail: kenko@kwrintl.com.