Tokyo - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that on Saturday, October 17, three group companies in Hangzhou, China - Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd. (production and sale of tires for passenger cars), Yokohama HAMATITE (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. (production and sale of sealants for passenger cars), and Yokohama Hoses & Coupling (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. (production and sale of hydraulic hoses) - jointly staged a second-phase tree-planting ceremony as part of Yokohama Rubber's "Yokohama Forever Forest" Project.

On the day of the event, some 250 people attended the ceremony, including employees of the three companies and their families, along with Yokohama Rubber's overseas trainees, representatives from governmental offices in Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, teachers and students from the Japanese school in Hangzhou, and university student volunteers. The participants planted about 2,400 seedlings of trees indigenous to the local area, including Quercus glauca and Quercus myrsinaefolia, which employees and others raised from acorns. The first-phase event was held almost a year before, on Saturday, November 1, 2008, with about 1,200 participants planting about 12,000 seedlings.

The "Yokohama Forever Forest" Project is, over some ten years, creating forests at domestic and overseas production sites in anticipation of the company's 100th anniversary in 2017. Under the guidance of Dr. Akira Miyawaki (an expert in physiognomy and professor emeritus of Yokohama National University), trees indigenous to each local area are being planted. About 500,000 trees in all will be planted at seven domestic plants and eleven overseas plants of Yokohama Rubber Group companies *1. First-phase plantings have been completed at all seven locations, and the second phase was commenced this April. Overseas, first-phase events have been held at five plants and the second phase has been completed at two. Overall, more than 110,000 trees have already been planted.

*1: The joint ceremony by the three group companies in China is counted as one.