West Japan Railway to enhance shareholder benefits, update refund policy

West Japan Railway Company has announced enhancements to its shareholder benefit program and partial changes to the handling of shareholder preferential railway discount coupons, aiming to boost investment appeal and convenience. Beginning September 30, 2025, eligible shareholders holding 2,000 shares or more, who have continuously held at least 100 shares for three years or more, will receive an original desk calendar featuring group trains and facilities. Calendars for the September 30, 2025 record date are planned for dispatch in December 2025. Continuous holding is defined as maintaining the same shareholder number across all record dates (March 31 and September 30 each year) over the past three years.

A significant change in policy for shareholder preferential railway discount coupons will take effect on October 1, 2025. Previously, discount coupons used for tickets purchased and subsequently refunded for customer's convenience were not eligible for reuse or reissue. The new policy will permit the reuse of discount coupons for tickets purchased via the "e5489" JR-West online train reservation site, provided a refund is requested before tickets are picked up and within the coupon's validity period. However, discount coupons cannot be reissued, and refund fees will still apply.

This policy change will also extend to railway discount coupons distributed to individual corporate bond purchasers and Wesmo! merchants as membership benefits. In cases of train service suspensions leading to a full ticket refund, discount coupons will continue to be processed for reuse or reissue, irrespective of the new handling.