Tokyo - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that on Saturday, December 11, Yokohama Tire Vietnam, Inc. (YTVI), its key tire production site in Vietnam, held a first-phase tree-planting ceremony as part of Yokohama Rubber's "Yokohama Forever Forest" Project.

On the day of the event, 230 people - employees of the plant and their families, representatives from administration, the management board of the industrial park where YTVI is located, people from a local botanical garden, and local elementary and high-school students - planted approximately 1,600 seedlings after Dr. Akira Miyawaki, professor emeritus of Yokohama National University and a plant ecologist, provided the lecture and the guidance for tree-planting. In line with the concept of creating forests through hands-on, personal efforts, primarily employees have been growing seedlings and improving the soil, and, for the event this time, 100% self-prepared seedlings were used.

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, 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, four sites have completed the second phase, and a first-phase event has been held at two plants. Overall, approximately 183,000 trees - 36.7% 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.