Yatsushiro City, Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. (hereinafter “Kyushu Electric Power”), NTT Anode Energy Corporation (hereinafter “NTT Anode Energy”), and Mitsubishi Corporation (hereinafter “MC”) are pleased to announce our signing of an agreement to strengthen collaboration and accelerate efforts to grow the use of renewable energy, thereby helping to expedite Yatsushiro City’s transition to carbon neutrality.

The city of Yatsushiro in Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture is facing a number of challenges, including local labor shortages driven by an aging society and declining birthrate, industrial stagnation exacerbated by depopulation, and damages caused by the wide-scale flooding that occurred in 2020. Under phase two of their comprehensive redevelopment plan, the municipal authorities are not only endeavoring to make Yatsushiro more resilient to natural disasters, but also taking strategic initiatives to rebrand it as a “Smart City.” The work therein includes leveraging new digital technologies to help the city address its abovementioned challenges and achieve carbon neutrality.

 

To help expedite Yatsushiro City’s carbon-zero transition, our four parties have agreed to collaborate in the following areas:

① Leveraging of private services to promote the citywide use of renewable energy.

② Encouragement of private homes, businesses, public facilities and other properties to switch to renewable energy.

③ Promotion of local-production-for-local-consumption renewable-energy model and revitalization of the local economy.

④ Leveraging renewable energy to make Yatsushiro a more resilient city that is less vulnerable to natural disasters.

⑤ Other work designed to encourage decarbonization, including energy conservation and electrification initiatives, and PR work to raise awareness.

 

The parties have agreed to undertake a model project in a designated area around Shin-Yatsushiro Station and Yatsushiro City Hall (hereinafter “Model Area”). The project will encompass the following trial operations which will be carried out by agreed parties, with an aim to commercialize them.

① Installation of photovoltaic power generation facilities, etc. in the Model Area

② Introduction of an operational mechanism that allows renewable energy generated in the Model Area to be physically consumed within the same area

③ Promotion of efficient use of renewable energy within the Model Area and enhance resilience through measures such as peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity trading, and usage of storage batteries and electric vehicles

④ Construction of a system that enables to supply mainly locally generated renewable electricity to the area’s residents and businesses

Address of City Hall：1-25 Matsuejyomachi, Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan

Location：Approx. 40 km south of Kumamoto City

Number of Households：57,406（As of March 2023）

Population：122,015人（As of March 2023）

Area：680㎢

Mayor：Hiroo Nakamura

Features：Yatsushiro City is the second largest municipality in Kumamoto Prefecture. It is known for producing some of Japan’s finest plants and fruits, including soft rush and pomelo. Referred to as a “masonry town” in one of Japan’s heritage stories, it is also home to many well-known agricultural, historical and tourist attractions, including the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage Yatsushiro Myoken Festival. Furthermore, in addition to the connection with Southern Kyushu via the Kyushu and Minamikyushu expressways, the city boasts Kumamoto Prefecture’s largest international trading port (Yatsushiro Port). It has become a key transportation hub in both overland and marine logistics. 

 

Headquarters：2-1-82 Watanabe-dori, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, 810-8720, Japan

Date Established：May 1, 1951

Business：Based on "Kyuden Group Carbon Neutral Vision 2050" formulated in April 2021, and “Kyuden Group Action Plan to Achieve Carbon Neutrality” formulated in November 2021, the Kyuden Group is committed to lower the carbon intensity of or decarbonize energy sources and accelerate the shift toward electricity-based energy consumption and it strives to become a corporate group that leads the way in Japan's decarbonizing initiatives from Kyushu.

Representative：Kazuhiro Ikebe, President & CEO

 

Headquarters：3-4-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Date Established：June 3, 2019

Business：The NTT Group is accelerating its group-wide decarbonization efforts based on its new environment and energy vision, "NTT Green Innovation Toward 2040". In order to realize “carbon neutrality” and “promote local production and consumption of energy”, NTT Anode Energy contributes to the realize a sustainable society through the development of solutions that make more advanced use of distributed energy resources such as renewable energy power generation facilities and storage batteries.

Representative：Teruyuki Kishimoto, President & CEO

 

Headquarters：3-1, Marunouchi 2-Chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8086, Japan

Date Established：July 1, 1954 (Date Registered April 1, 1950)

Business：MC engages in a wide range of businesses spanning multiple industries and overseen by its Industry DX Group, Next-Generation Energy Business Group and 10 Business Groups: Natural Gas, Industrial Materials, Chemicals Solution, Mineral Resources, Industrial Infrastructure, Automotive & Mobility, Food Industry, Consumer Industry, Power Solution, and Urban Development.

Representative：Katsuya Nakanishi, Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

Based on the Three Corporate Principles, which serve as MC’s core philosophy, MC has continued to grow together with society by contributing to the sustainable development of society through its business activities while pursuing value creation. MC’s revised “Materiality” was announced in Midterm Corporate Strategy 2024 as a set of crucial societal issues that MC will prioritize through its business activities, towards the strategy’s goal of continuous creation of MC Shared Value (MCSV). Guided by this Materiality, MC will continue to strengthen its efforts towards sustainable corporate growth. Out of the six material issues relating to “Realizing a Carbon Neutral Society and Striving to Enrich Society Both Materially and Spiritually”, this project’s activities particularly support “Contributing to Decarbonized Societies” and “Addressing Regional Issues and Growing Together with Local Communities”.