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

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Apr 25, 2017, 16:29 ET

COLUMBUS, Ga., April 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) announced today that Masatoshi Koide, who currently serves as deputy president of Aflac Japan, will be promoted to president and chief operating officer of Aflac Japan. Hiroshi Yamauchi, who currently serves as president and chief operating officer of Aflac Japan, will assume the role of vice chairman of Aflac Japan. These changes will become effective July 1, 2017.

Koide originally joined Aflac in 1998 and remained with the company until March 2006, after which time he worked for Nikko Asset Management. He rejoined Aflac again in 2008 as vice president, was promoted to senior vice president in 2012 and to first senior vice president in 2013. In 2015, he was promoted to executive vice president, Planning, Government Affairs & Research, Corporate Communications, Legal, Risk Management, Investment, Compliance, Customer Services, and General Affairs, and in 2016 he was promoted to deputy president of Aflac Japan. He earned his bachelor's degree from Tokyo University and his LL.M. degree from Cornell Law School, and he is a member of the New York State Bar.

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 the role of executive vice president in 2012, with oversight responsibilities for Planning, Government Affairs & Research, Legal, Corporate Communications, Human Resources and IT, and was promoted to president and chief operating officer of Aflac Japan in 2015.

Commenting on the announcement, Aflac Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel P. Amos said: "In his 41 years with Aflac, Yamauchi-san has contributed greatly to our company in so many ways, including his leadership and dedication to enhancing our framework for creating products and the customer-driven service we provide. He has enhanced vital aspects of our company with his results-oriented approach, enabling us to deliver on our promises to our policyholders. We will appreciate his support of Aflac Japan from a broader perspective. At the same time, I know Koide-san will continue to do an exceptional job in his new role. He has demonstrated dedicated and effective leadership. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work even more closely with him as we advance Aflac's ability to reach more and more Japanese citizens throughout Japan."

About Aflac
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For 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. Through its trailblazing One Day Pay^SM initiative, Aflac U.S. can receive, process, approve and disburse payment for eligible claims in one business day. In Japan, Aflac is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures 1 in 4 households. Aflac individual and group insurance products help provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For 11 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2017, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for the 19th consecutive year and included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for the 16th time. In 2015, Aflac's contact centers were recognized by J.D. Power by providing "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience" for the Live Phone Channel. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One Day Pay℠, 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 report 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", "outlook" 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; exposure to significant interest rate risk; concentration of business in Japan; foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate; risks relating to the conversion of the Japan branch to a subsidiary; limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments; deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions; ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systems; governmental actions for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets; 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; ongoing changes in our industry; failure to comply with restrictions on patient privacy and information security; extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities; defaults and credit downgrades of securities in our investment portfolio; ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates and employees; decline in creditworthiness of other financial institutions; subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to Aflac Incorporated; decreases in our financial strength or debt ratings; inherent limitations to risk management policies and procedures; concentration of our investments in any particular single-issuer or sector; differing judgments applied to investment valuations; ability to effectively manage key executive succession; significant valuation judgments in determination of amount of impairments taken on our investments; catastrophic events including, but not necessarily limited to, epidemics, pandemics, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, acts of terrorism and damage incidental to such events; changes in U.S. and/or Japanese accounting standards; loss of consumer trust resulting from events external to our operations; credit and other risks associated with Aflac's investment in perpetual securities; increased expenses and reduced profitability resulting from changes in assumptions for pension and other postretirement benefit plans; level and outcome of litigation; and failure of internal controls or corporate governance policies and procedures.

Analyst and investor contact – David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667; FAX: 706.324.6330 or [email protected]

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

SOURCE Aflac Incorporated