[Okayama Prefecture Yorozu Support Center × PR TIMES × Okayama Prefecture Credit Guarantee Association] 'SME Support Seminar' Held in Conjunction with 'SME Day (July 20)' and 'SME Appeal Month (July)'

The Okayama Prefecture Yorozu Support Center (a project commissioned by the Chugoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, operated by the Okayama Prefecture Industrial Promotion Foundation), the Okayama Prefecture Credit Guarantee Association, and PR TIMES Co., Ltd. will hold a related event for 'SME Day' and 'SME Appeal Month' to improve the management capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises and small-scale businesses.

The theme for this second annual event is 'Information Dissemination.' Amidst drastic changes in the environment surrounding SMEs, such as prolonged price hikes and labor shortages, the importance of 'public relations and PR' to correctly convey a company's strengths to society is increasing. In this event, in addition to experts from the Okayama Prefecture Yorozu Support Center, professionals with media backgrounds who are currently active on the front lines of PR for local companies will take the stage. They will give lectures on information dissemination methods from a practical standpoint, incorporating specific examples.

[To Media Representatives] We kindly ask you to widely inform small and medium-sized and small-scale business owners and consider covering the event on the day.

[To Small and Medium-sized and Small-scale Business Owners] The seminar is packed with tips that can be put into practice immediately, such as 'tricks to get media coverage' and 'ways to communicate to increase fans.' Why not use this event as an opportunity to strengthen your company's information dissemination capabilities and elevate your management to the next level? We look forward to your participation.

≪What are SME Day and SME Appeal Month?≫ The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency has designated July 20, the date of the promulgation and enforcement of the Small and Medium Enterprise Basic Act, as 'SME Day' and the entire month of July as 'SME Appeal Month.' This initiative involves the public and private sectors intensively holding events related to SMEs and small-scale businesses during this period to provide opportunities as a national movement to foster a broad understanding of the significance and appeal of these businesses.

[Details] 1. Date and Time: Wednesday, July 1, 2026, 14:00 - 17:15 2. Venue: Creative Coworking Space TOGITOGI (3-10 Muraya-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture) *Simultaneous web distribution available 3. Program: ① 'AI Utilization Techniques Without Overreaching: The Current State of Planning and Promotion to Shape Your Company's Strengths' Instructor: Yohei Yoshikawa, Coordinator, Okayama Prefecture Yorozu Support Center Leveraging extensive experience in the advertising industry, he provides PR advice to SMEs at the Okayama Prefecture Yorozu Support Center. He values the latest AI utilization and human-centered dialogue, constructing multifaceted promotion strategies from TV commercials to social media. He supports a new form of PR that allows business owners to become self-sufficient, from strategy formulation to implementation.

② 'Your Company's Appeal Can Be Conveyed More. Your Efforts Can Still Reach Further. Let's Make Journalists Busier with Everyone's Outreach (laughs).' Instructor: Noboru Kaetsu, Certified Press Release Evangelist, PR TIMES Co., Ltd.; Director, Senior Executive Officer, CPRO & Group CPRO, Ryobi Holdings Co., Ltd. (Former NHK Director) After joining NHK as a director, he worked on a wide variety of program production, including documentaries. After retiring at the mandatory retirement age in 2022, he moved to the Ryobi Group, shifting his field from the 'reading and selecting' side of press releases to the 'writing and strategy creation' side. He applies his NHK-honed 'perspective' and 'editorial sense' to PR and public relations, teaching the essence of information dissemination as a PR TIMES Certified Press Release Evangelist.

4. Target Audience: Owners and representatives of SMEs and small-scale businesses in Okayama Prefecture; representatives of economic support organizations in Okayama Prefecture, etc. 5. Capacity: 40 people (on-site), unlimited (online) 6. Participation Fee: Free 7. Application Method: Please apply via the web form. URL: https://form.run/@seminar0701 8. Co-organizers: Okayama Prefecture Industrial Promotion Foundation (Okayama Prefecture Yorozu Support Center: project commissioned by Chugoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry), Okayama Prefecture Credit Guarantee Association, PR TIMES Co., Ltd. 9. Contact: Okayama Prefecture Yorozu Support Center (Reception hours: 8:30 - 17:15 on weekdays), Phone: 086-206-2180, Email: [email protected]

≪What is the Okayama Prefecture Yorozu Support Center?≫ It is a free management consultation office established by the national government for SMEs and small-scale businesses. It has coordinators who are specialists in various fields to address all management-related concerns of these businesses. Furthermore, the Okayama Prefecture Industrial Promotion Foundation, the implementing body of the Okayama Prefecture Yorozu Support Center, and PR TIMES Co., Ltd. signed a collaboration agreement on Thursday, May 28, 2026, to support PR for businesses in the prefecture. This seminar is part of the initiatives under this agreement.