September 30, 2003

NP Development Launches Sports Club Business
for Physical and Psychological Health

NP Development Co., Ltd.

NP Development Co., Ltd. (Head Office Kita-ku, Tokyo; President: Ikuo Kuwajima), will be launching a new sports club business at two locations: Kita-ku in Tokyo and Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture. Using former industrial sites, the new business is committed to providing "physical and psychological health-balanced health between body and mind."
 
(1) In Kita-ku, the Company will develop an idle lot currently used for rental parking into sporting facilities that will collectively be made available for long-term lease.
(2) In Kitakyushu, it will construct a new establishment adjacent to an existing golf practice range and run it as a general sports center.
 
This new business envisions not only conventional facilities such as fitness studios, gyms and swimming pools, but also facilities with warm bath equipment as well. In addition, comprehensive programs customized for individual members (and in the new establishment in Kita-ku, Tokyo, a program to combat lifestyle-related diseases) will be provided to expand the membership to middle-aged and elderly people and to go beyond the physical health or fitness focus of conventional sports club businesses.
 
[Overview of New Business]
 
Name (1) Central Wellness Club Higashi-Jujo (Tentative) (2) Sports Club Jujo Let's
Location 1-24-5 Higashi-Jujo, Kita-ku, Tokyo 1-19-3 Nakashima, Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture
Lot area Approx. 2,310m2 Approx. 990m2
Structure Five-story building
(Total floor area: approx. 6,270m2) 		Three-story building
(Total floor area: approx. 1,980m2)
Major equipment Studio, gym, swimming pool, water walking pool, warm bath equipment, culture room, multi-purpose studio Studio, gym, swimming pool, water walking pool, warm bath with natural thermal water
Inauguration date July 2004 (planned) October 2003
Expected membership 4,000 members 1,500 members
Mode of operation Collective lease (*1) Direct operation (*2)
 
(*1) This club is leased to CENTRAL SPORTS CO., LTD. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President: Tadaharu Goto). It will be the first establishment in Tokyo in its newly launched "Wellness Club" business.
(*2) The Company will operate this as the first establishment franchised by Kitakyushu-based Let's Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Yahata Nishi-ku, Kitakyushu, President: Naoki Ando) under its managerial guidance.
 
NP Development Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., was founded in April 1996 as a product of the merger between Sanyo-Kokusaku Sangyo Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the former Sanyo-Kokusaku Pulp Co., Ltd, and Jujo Kaihatsu Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the former Jujo Paper Co., Ltd. It runs four businesses: afforestation, management of sports and leisure facilities, insurance brokerage and real estate. In the sports and leisure business, the Company operates golf practice ranges, bowling alleys, tennis schools as well as Malnuma Ski Resort in Nikko National Park, where visitors can enjoy outdoor sports in summer and skiing in winter.
The Company will change its name from the current NP Development Co., Ltd. to Nippon Paper Development Co., Ltd. on December 1, 2003.