Yokohama Rubber joins international joint research project aimed at solving environmental problems through effective use of natural rubber seeds, an untapped resource

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that as of this September it is participating as an official partner institution in an international joint research project for “Utilization Technology of Rubber Seeds for Green Products to Mitigate Global Warming and Plastic Pollution” (hereinafter referred to as “this research project”), which aims to solve environmental problems through the effective use of natural rubber seeds. This project has been selected as a research project for the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program, which is jointly operated by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), with support from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
This research project is an international project being conducted jointly by industry, government, and academia in Japan and Thailand, the world's largest producer of natural rubber.
Most of the natural rubber currently used by industry, including as a raw material for tires, is made from the sap of the Para rubber tree. Most rubber tree seeds, except those used for reseeding, are discarded. This research project aims to contribute to solving such environmental problems as global warming and the problem of economic disparity suffered by agricultural workers through the creation of new biomass businesses made possible by the development of a sustainable and effective utilization technology for Para rubber tree seeds, which are an untapped carbon-neutral resource.
Prior to becoming an official participant in this research project, Yokohama Rubber had been participating since 2023 in local surveys of natural rubber plantations through Y.T. Rubber Co., Ltd. (YTRC), the Company’s natural rubber processing subsidiary in Thailand. YTRC’s support for the research project was recognized in August 2024, when Associate Professor Kanehashi visited the company and presented it with a letter of appreciation from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.
Yokohama Rubber looks forward to strengthening the collaborative effort to establish a sustainable collection system for Para rubber seeds and contributing to the improvement of rubber tree farmers’ working environment by creating new revenue sources in the natural rubber industry, which is indispensable to Yokohama Rubber’s business.
Yokohama Rubber's head office has also begun investigating the potential use of recycled tires as a raw material in the future as part of its circular economy initiatives.

Yokohama Rubber is participating in a Japan MoE project for evaluating and verifying sustainable procurement of natural capital from the ASEAN region

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that it is participating as a collaborating organization in a Japan Ministry of the Environment (MoE) project using advanced technology for evaluating and verifying sustainable procurement of natural capital from the ASEAN region (hereafter, “the Project”), which is being implemented as one of the Japan government’s Cabinet Office programs for “Bridging the gap between R&D and the IDeal society (society 5.0) and Generating Economic and social value (BRIDGE).” The Project was selected for funding by the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency of Japan (ERCA), an independent administrative institution, under its program for overseas surveys and compliance with international rules targeting the procurement of recycled resources such as metals and natural resources in foreign countries. The Project will be carried out for one year from April 2024 to March 2025.
The Project is being conducted by Mizuho Research & Technologies, Ltd., in collaboration with Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd., and will utilize advanced technologies, such as remote-sensing technology^※, to accurately grasp the size of plantations and farms, create quantitative evaluation indicators and judgment criteria for business activities related to natural capital, and develop monitoring methods with the aim of promoting sustainable procurement of raw materials and appropriate information disclosures of the use of natural capital. As a company that procures natural rubber, Yokohama Rubber will contribute to the Project by employing its monitoring method at natural rubber plantations in Thailand.

• This remote-sensing technology analyzes information acquired by sensors mounted on satellites, making it possible to grasp the condition of forests, crop quality, and plant growth conditions in remote areas.

The Yokohama Rubber Group procures the natural rubber used in a wide variety of its products from a complex supply chain composed of many small-scale rubber plantations, intermediaries, and processing plants. It therefore has become difficult for the Group to assess and monitor risks related to environmental issues in its supply chain, such as illegal deforestation or poor water resource management, and ensuring traceability has become an issue for the Group’s promotion of sustainable procurement. Yokohama Rubber expects its participation in this Project to enable it to establish better monitoring and information disclosure methods that improve the traceability of natural rubber in its supply chain.

Contributing to the control of rubber tree diseases spreading in Indonesia

The Yokohama Rubber has participated as a cooperating corporation in the international joint research project “Development of Integrated Technologies for Controlling Rubber Tree Leaf Blight” (hereinafter referred to as this research), which aims to achieve the sustainable production and use of natural rubber by preventing and controlling rubber tree diseases since 2020. Starting in 2024, the company began investigating the impact of fungicides selected through screening on the quality of natural rubber.
Most of the natural rubber currently used by industry, including as a raw material for tires, is made from the sap of the Para rubber tree. However, leaf fall disease has become widespread, especially in Indonesia, causing serious damage to rubber production. This research project aims to stabilize production on smallholders, which account for more than 90% of Indonesia's natural rubber production, through a multifaceted approach that includes using pesticides to exterminate leaf fall disease, establishing technology for breeding disease-resistant clones, and using images from satellites and drones to detect infected areas in the early stages.
This research project is an international project being conducted jointly by industry, government, and academic institutions in Japan, including the national research and development agency RIKEN, and institutions in Indonesia, the world's second largest producer of natural rubber. Also, the project has been selected as a research project for the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program, which is jointly implemented by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), with support from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. On December 9, 2025, the results of this international joint research project were presented at the “5th Joint Coordination Committee Meeting (Toward the Application of Joint Technologies for the Development of New Varieties of Natural Rubber Trees)” held at the Universitas Indonesia.