Weathernews Inc. announced today that it has established a subsidiary to be headquartered in Milan, Italy.

1. Aims of Establishment of Subsidiary

   Weathernews set up the new subsidiary in Italy as one link in its global strategy, and in particular to strengthen its operations in Europe. This action follows similar steps the company took last year to bolster its business in the United States. Besides further reinforcing the present network of European bases in the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands, Weathernews had been planning for some time to open new bases in promising markets, including Italy and Spain. Establishing the new company headquartered in Milan, Italy, is a part of this overall plan.

2. Purpose of Establishing New Subsidiary

   1. 1) Sales of weather information services to corporate customers in Italy
   2. 2) Marketing of weather information services to individuals and the general public in Italy

3. Outline of Company

   1) Name:

   Weathernews Italia S.p.A.

   2) Address:

   Via Appiani Andrea 12, Cap 20121 Milan, Italy

   3) Date of establishment:

   January 30, 2004

   4) Capital:

   250,000 euro

   5) Representative directors:

   T. Francis Yukawa, Chairman (Executive Vice President, Weathernews Inc.)
   Guido Merighi, President (Weathernews Italia S.p.A.)
   Hiroyoshi Ishibashi, Director (Group Chairman&CEO, Weathernews Inc.)

   6) Reporting period:

   March 31, 2004

Weathernews Inc.

Weathernews Inc. is the world's largest private weather service company.
It is the only global weather contents provider that has over 600 staffs (including more than 350 meteorologists) in 31 offices in the main cities around the world.
Weathernews offers a full range of weather content services based on a solid man & machine shareware system. In November 2003, Weathernews became the first weather service company ever listed on the 1st Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (4825).