PRESS RELEASE
July 17, 2024
Kikai Town
Chiyoda Corporation
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company, Limited

Collaboration Agreement Promoting Regional Decarbonization in Kikai Town
~Towards the realization of a ‘Zero Carbon Island’~
Kikai Town, Chiyoda Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui
Finance and Leasing Company Limited signed a ‘Comprehensive Collaboration Agreement’, effective
July 17, 2024, promoting the revitalization and regional decarbonization vision of Kikai Town. Byutilizing local resources, and preserving and inheriting the island's culture, nature and landscapeunder the agreement, Kikai Town will aim to realize a ‘Zero Carbon Island’ by 2050.
1. Background
Formed over a period of 100,000 years through the spread of coral reefs and repeated crustal uplift(one of the fastest in the world, averaging about 2mm per year), Kikai Island, where the town of Kikai
Town is situated, is located within the Amami Islands, stretching between Kagoshima and Okinawa
Main Island. The island’s environmental characteristics are extremely rare, making its preservationand development environmentally significant from both research and tourism perspectives.
Kikai Island is culturally unique and natural features, such as rare agricultural underground dams,
intersect with historical sites and remnants of war. As a producer of black sugar shochu and as thetop producer of sesame in Japan, the island also showcases the distinctive vegetation of the Amami
Islands, represented by the majestic banyan trees (Gajumaru).
Impacts of climate change, such as the increasing frequency and intensity of typhoons and the rise ofheavy rainfall events, have also affected Kikai Island, which is not connected to the electrical grid ofmainland Kyushu or Amami Oshima and relies on external sources for energy and daily necessities.
There is therefore a concern that Kikai Town may experience more pronounced negative effects fromclimate change compared to other regions.
Kikai Town’s population has been declining since 1985, resulting in economic stagnation andinadequate public infrastructure, endangering its prosperity for future generations.
By uniting their unique strengths, combining their extensive domestic and international networks andthrough regional cooperation, the signatories to the ‘Comprehensive Collaboration Agreement’ aim toresolve Kikai Island’s complex and interconnected challenges in energy, transportation, the economy
and the natural environment. Their shared experience in meeting the challenges of the island will bekey to conquering similar difficulties shared by other inhabited Japanese islands.

2. Collaboration and Cooperation Items
The ‘Comprehensive Collaboration Agreement’ will proceed as follows:(1) Initiatives to improve energy efficiency through the introduction and dissemination ofrenewable energy, aiming to enhance regional revitalization and improve the convenience ofresidents.
(2) Business utilizing local characteristics.
(3) Promotion of projects aimed at decarbonization and enhancing disaster resilience within theregion.
(4) Matters related to public transportation and other means of transportation in the daily lives ofresidents, which also contribute to decarbonization.
(5) Matters related to the implementation of public-private partnership projects conducted byKikai Town.
The signatories will cooperate with local power companies, financial institutions, infrastructurecompanies, transportation/travel companies and key facilities within the island and neighboringmunicipalities to execute these specific initiatives.

For further information, please contact:
Chiyoda Corporation
IR, PR & Sustainability Advanced Section
Email: irpr@chiyodacorp.com
URL: https://www.chiyodacorp.com/en/contact/index.php