Social Contribution Activities

Social Contribution Activities in Japan

Efforts to improve QOL (Quality Of Life) Through the Medi-Air Wheelchair Cushion

At Yokohama Rubber, we conduct the following activities to support the various social activities of wheelchair users and improve their quality of life (QOL).

• Inspired by the participation in the Asia Cross-Country Rally of the athlete Takuma Aoki, who is paralyzed from the waist down, since 2009 we have provided our Medi-Air wheelchair air cushions that reduce the burden on the lower body for use in the rally.
• The wheelchair tennis player Satoshi Saita has used our Medi-Air Sky for daily use.
• At the Variety Village Summer Business Camp sponsored by Variety Club Japan, an NPO established for the purpose of supporting the independence of children with disabilities, the Yokohama Rubber Shonan Seminar House (Hiratsuka City) was held on August 23 and 24, during which the Corporate Social Responsibility Division spoke about the social contribution activities of Yokohama Rubber. These dates coincided with the Hiratsuka Fireworks Festival and there were children participating who were very excited about experiencing the powerful display of fireworks for the first time.
• We sponsored and cooperated in the running of the Nissan Cup Oppama Championship, a nationwide wheelchair marathon that was held in December.

Variety Village Summer Business Camp 2013

Social Contribution Activities Overseas

Commencement of an Ecological Studies Project Aimed at Ecological Preservation in Laojunshan, Yunnan Prefecture, China

Yokohama Rubber (China) Co., Ltd., the Yokohama Rubber Group's supervising company in China commenced an ecological studies (education support) project in July 2012 at the minority village of Heyuan within the Laojunshan Nature Reserve in Lijiang, Yunnan Prefecture. As this project has been implemented as part of the virgin forest and green life environmental preservation activities of Yokohama Rubber (China) Co., Ltd., the project aims to support the education of local poor households and prevent timber theft in mountains and forests as a model project for the sustainable development and preservation of the ecosystem in the Heyuan community.
Although there has been pro-active cooperation with the preservation of the local ecosystem, due to the long cultivation cycles of some economic crops there are at times temporary reductions in economic income, causing an increased burden for the education expenses of children. Decisions on such households to receive support are made by the Heyuan villagers association. We believe that with this project it will be possible to prevent the theft of timber by residents seeking to increase income and encourage the preservation of privately-owned forests in the village.