Tokyo - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that its Mishima Plant (Mishima City, Shizuoka Prefecture), a key production site for tires for passenger cars and light trucks, staged a third-phase tree-planting ceremony as part of Yokohama Rubber's Yokohama Forever Forest Project on Saturday, November 27.

With 121 Yokohama Rubber employees and family members attending the event, 550 seedlings were planted. 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. The total number of seedlings planted at the plant now stands at 16,145. In addition to its own tree-plantings, the company cooperates with environmental activities of neighboring administrations - for example, contributing seedlings grown by its employees to a forest management project of Numazu City - 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 a plant ecologist, 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 (Nakahara Plant and Hiratsuka-Higashi Plant have completed the third and second phases, respectively); third-phase plantings have been completed at the Mie, Mishima, Onomichi, Ibaraki and Nagano Plants; and the second phase at the Shinshiro Plant. 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 175,000 trees - 35% 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.