Initiatives with local communities

Yusuhara town is located at the headwaters of the Shimanto river, and forests occupy 91% of the town area.
Since ancient times, they have sought to coexist with nature while enjoying the benefits of forests. This forest influences Yusuhara town's unique traditions and culture and also supports the forestry industry, which is a key industry.
In addition, in the town, there is the "Ishin-no-michi/Dappan-no-michi" which Ryoma Sakamoto, who believed in the dawn of Japan and ran through the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, traveled.

In 2005, the government, local residents, and companies worked together to launch a woody biomass regional recycling business, and in 2008, Yusuhara Pellet Co., Ltd's pellet factory began operations.
Aiming for the cyclical use of forest resources, in order to revitalize the forestry industry in Yusuhara town and maintain the forest, we are making pellets from thin wood and mill ends and using them as fuel.

Nishiawakura village is located in the northernmost part of Okayama prefecture, and about 95% of the area of the town is covered with forests.
There are facilities such as hot bath facilities, a ski resort, and a campground, and it is a popular village as a tourist spot.
In addition, Nishiawakura village has been working on its own economic circulation model and the construction of a low carbon society long before 2015, when the SDGs were adopted at the United Nations summit.
These activities are also models for other local governments' activities to realize the SDGs.

An "environmental model city" is a concrete and easy-to-understand way to show the shape of a society aiming for a low-carbon society. The government selects cities that set lofty goals take on the challenge of pioneering initiatives, and support their realization.
Nishiawakura village was selected on April 2, 2013. We are promoting the construction of a low carbon society not only through the 100 year forest business but also through the introduction of renewable energy. We aim to create a low carbon model area in the hilly and mountainous areas of Japan through the creation of "high quality rural areas that share the limited blessing of nature with important people" such as small hydroelectric power generation, biomass, and solar power generation.

On March 20, 2014, it was designated as a "Biomass industry city" jointly promoted by seven related ministries(Cabinet Office, Ministry of Internal and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and Ministry of the Environment), Nichiawakura village was selected. A "biomass industry city" is an area that aims to create an environment-friendly, disaster-resistant city centered on the biomass industry that makes the most of the local characteristics.

Hamamatsu city is located roughly halfway between the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Kansai area. It has an urban area where urban functions and advanced technology industries are concentrated, a plain area where suburban agriculture is thriving, a coastal area blessed with abundant marine resources, and a vast area. There is a hilly and mountainous area with forest resources, and it is truly a country scale city.
Local industries are thriving, rooted in the cotton fabric and lumber industries that have continued since the Edo period. Accumulation of advanced technologies such as those related to optical and electronic technology is progressing.