Tokyo - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that on Saturday, November 6, its Shinshiro-Minami Plant (Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture), a key production site for tires for passenger cars and light-trucks, staged second-phase tree-planting ceremony as part of Yokohama Rubber's "Yokohama Forever Forest Project."

Along with Yokohama Rubber employees and their families, approximately 200 people attended from the local administration and local elementary and junior-high schools. In all, 510 participants planted 2,649 seedlings. In line with the concept of creating forests through hands-on, personal efforts, seedlings grown primarily by employees have been used since the second-phase plantings and for the ceremony this time, 100% self-prepared seedlings were used. In addition to tree-plantings, the company also contributes seedlings grown by its employees to administrations, schools, organizations and other companies, working to spread recognition throughout society of the importance of preserving the global environment.

The Yokohama Forever Forest Project was started in 2007 and is 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, professor emeritus of Yokohama National University and an expert in physiognomy, trees indigenous to each local area are being planted. About 500,000 trees in all will be planted at seven domestic*1 and eleven overseas plants of Yokohama Rubber Group companies*2. In Japan, the fourth-phase planting has been completed at the Hiratsuka Factory; third-phase plantings have been completed at the Onomichi, Mie, Nagano and Ibaraki Plants; and the second phase at the Mishima, Hiratsuka-Higashi and Shinshiro-Minami Plants. Overseas, a third-phase event has been completed at one site, four sites have completed the second phase, and a first phase event has been held at one plant. Overall, approximately 170,000 trees - 34% of our goal of 500,000 - have already been planted.

*1:The Hiratsuka-Higashi and Nakahara Plants are included as part of the Hiratsuka Factory; the Shinshiro-Minami Plant is included as part of the Shinshiro Plant.

*2:A joint ceremony by three group companies in China is counted as one.