Yokohama Begins ‘Forever Forest’ Project

Yokohama Rubber’s inaugural “Yokohama Forever Forest” tree planting ceremony, held at is factory in Hiratsuka City, Japan, proved to be a highly successful introduction to the tyremaker’s long-term tree planting initiative. Around 3,500 local residents and Yokohama employees, with family members, attended the factory site on Sunday November 11 and planted about 27,000 seedlings. Yokohama reports that 54 varieties of tree were planted on the day, including tabu (persea), shii (castanopsis) and akagashi (quercus acuta).

The ceremony began a little after 9:30am with company president Tadanobu Nagumo explaining the project’s objectives. Taro Kono, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives and Hiratsuka City Mayor Ritsuko Okura then addressed the audience, after which Tadashi Tateuchi, an automotive journalist of some standing in Japan, and racing driver Ukyo Katayama were introduced. Professor Emeritus Akira Miyawaki of Yokohama National University, who was supervising the planting, also provided a detailed explanation of how to plant the seedlings, giving a hands-on demonstration along with Yokohama Rubber chairman Yasuo Tominaga, president Nagumo and the other guests on stage.

The participants were then divided into groups to plant the trees at 15 locations within the factory premises. In the afternoon, after the planting had been completed, a Japanese taiko drum performance by students and graduates of the Kanagawa Prefectural Hiratsuka School for the Deaf was performed in the premises’ main dining room, followed by a discussion between Mr. Tateuchi and Mr. Katayama on the global environment. Food stalls erected along the main walkway to the west of the dining room provided catering for the attendees.