Hiroshi Yamauchi Promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of Aflac Japan; Tohru Tonoike to Assume Role as Vice Chairman

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Oct 24, 2014, 08:58 ET

COLUMBUS, Ga., Oct. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) announced today that Hiroshi Yamauchi, who currently serves as executive vice president of Aflac Japan, will be promoted to president and chief operating officer of Aflac Japan. Tohru Tonoike, president and chief operating officer of Aflac Japan, will assume the role of vice chairman of Aflac Japan. These changes will become effective January 1, 2015.

Yamauchi joined Aflac Japan in 1976 in the Actuarial Department, where he served in positions of increasing responsibility and subsequently advanced through the ranks of various other operational areas. He was promoted to vice president in 1999, to first senior vice president in 2002 and to the additional role of chief administrative officer from 2005 to 2009. He assumed his most recent role as executive vice president in 2012, and his oversight responsibilities for numerous vital areas include Planning, Government Affairs & Research, Legal, Corporate Communications, Human Resources and IT.

Tonoike joined Aflac Japan in early 2007 as deputy president and was promoted later that year to president and chief operating officer. Tonoike served on the Aflac board of directors from 2004 until he assumed his role at Aflac Japan in 2007.

Commenting on the announcement, Aflac Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel P. Amos said: "Tohru has contributed greatly to our company in so many ways, including his leadership and dedication to enhancing our distribution infrastructure with traditional sales agencies, the bank channel and Japan Post. We will appreciate his support of Aflac Japan from a broader perspective. At the same time, I know Hiroshi will continue to do an exceptional job in his new role. He has 38 years of experience with Aflac Japan, including the last 15 years as a part of the Aflac Japan officer team, that have prepared him well. He has demonstrated dedicated and effective leadership. Over the years, Hiroshi has also enhanced vital aspects of our company with his results-oriented approach, including our framework for creating products and the customer-driven service we provide. These critical activities enable us to deliver on our promises to our policyholders."

Also commenting on the announcement, President of Aflac Paul S. Amos II said: "Having worked in Japan very closely with Tohru, his work ethic, leadership and discipline are to be commended and serve as an example to all. At the same time, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work even more closely with Hiroshi. The depth and breadth of knowledge he has amassed throughout his 38 years with Aflac will continue to be an asset to the company. Hiroshi has the skills and determination to help advance our market-leading position in Japan."

About Aflac

When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For nearly six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leading provider of voluntary insurance at the worksite. In Japan, Aflac is the number one life insurance company in terms of individual policies in force. Aflac individual and group insurance products help provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For eight consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere magazine as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2014, FORTUNE magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for the 16th consecutive year. Also, in 2014, FORTUNE magazine included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for the 13th time, ranking the company number one in the life and health insurance category. Aflac Incorporated is a FORTUNE 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac, visit aflac.com or espanol.aflac.com.

Forward-Looking Information

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" to encourage companies to provide prospective information, so long as those informational statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. We desire to take advantage of these provisions. This document contains cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected herein, and in any other statements made by company officials in communications with the financial community and contained in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Forward-looking statements are not based on historical information and relate to future operations, strategies, financial results or other developments. Furthermore, forward-looking information is subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties. In particular, statements containing words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "goal," "objective," "may," "should," "estimate," "intends," "projects," "will," "assumes," "potential," "target" or similar words as well as specific projections of future results, generally qualify as forward-looking. Aflac undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. We caution readers that the following factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements: difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy; governmental actions for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets; defaults and credit downgrades of securities in our investment portfolio; exposure to significant financial and capital markets risk; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; significant changes in investment yield rates; credit and other risks associated with Aflac's investment in perpetual securities; differing judgments applied to investment valuations; significant valuation judgments in determination of amount of impairments taken on our investments; limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments; concentration of our investments in any particular single-issuer or sector concentration of business in Japan; decline in creditworthiness of other financial institutions; deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions; subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to Aflac Incorporated; changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities; ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates and employees; decreases in our financial strength or debt ratings; ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systems; interruption in telecommunication, information technology and other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on such systems; changes in U.S. and/or Japanese accounting standards; failure to comply with restrictions on patient privacy and information security; inability to recognize tax benefits associated with capital loss carryforwards; level and outcome of litigation; ability to effectively manage key executive succession; catastrophic events including, but not necessarily limited to, epidemics, pandemics, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, acts of terrorism and damage incidental to such events; ongoing changes in our industry; events that damage our reputation; and failure of internal controls or corporate governance policies and procedures.

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Analyst and investor contact – Robin Y. Wilkey, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667; FAX: 706.324.6330, or [email protected]

Media contact – Catherine Blades, 706.596.3014; FAX: 706.320.2288, or [email protected]

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SOURCE Aflac Incorporated