Tokyo - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that on Saturday, December 4, Yokohama Tire Philippines, Inc. (YTPI), the key production site for passenger car tires in the Philippines, held a third-phase tree-planting ceremony as part of Yokohama Rubber's Yokohama Forever Forest Project.

On the day of the event, 1,094 people, including employees of the company and their families, attended and planted 6,017 seedlings in an area of 1,707 square meters on the plant premises. The total number of seedlings planted by YTPI since its first tree-planting in August 2008 is now 16,311. Among seedlings planted this time, 830 were grown by YTPI's employees. In subsequent plantings, the company intends to increase the employee-grown portion. YTPI is a leader in environmental protection among companies in the Philippines, and its activities have drawn considerable attention. On the day of the event, company representatives gave a number of interviews to various local media.

The Yokohama Forever Forest Project started in 2007 and is creating forests at domestic and overseas production sites in commemoration 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 (the 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, third-phase events have been completed at two sites, three sites have completed the second phase, and a first-phase event has been held at one plant. Overall, approximately 182,000 trees - 36.4% 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.