Nature Positivity
Maintaining Biodiversity
We will ascertain and analyze the dependencies and impacts of our business on environmental assets as well as the risks and opportunities based on the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature- related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), and we will disclose appropriate information. We will also continue to engage in activities essential to nature positivity.
Hometown Forest Planting Program
In order to preserve biodiversity and contribute to a sustainable society, the JR East Group has been carrying out a Hometown Forest Planting program since FY2005.3, in which we plant tree species that are native to each area and regenerate forests using the power of nature. In FY2026.3, we held our first reforestation event in Ichinoseki City, where JR East Group employees and their families planted trees together with local residents. To date, we have planted trees in eight cities, towns, and villages across five prefectures and planted approximately 170,000 seedlings in total. Looking ahead, we will continue to take on initiatives to enrich ecosystems, including Hometown Forest Planting, in order to foster nature positivity and enhance our corporate value.
Maintenance of Railway Forests
The Company manages approximately 3,900 hectares of railway forests throughout Japan with the aim of protecting railways from snowstorms, avalanches, and the like. By continuing to thin out forests appropriately and plant species suited to the functions of each individual forest, we contribute to the preservation of ecosystems while ensuring disaster prevention functions.
We are also working to realize a recycling-based society, such as by using wood harvested during the maintenance of railway forests for office furniture and interior decoration.
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Table created using railway forest wood (JR Meguro MARC Building) -
Monument created using railway forest wood (Omiya Station)
Harmony with the River Environment through the Construction of Fishways
The Shinanogawa Power Station (Tokamachi City and Ojiya City, Niigata Prefecture), which uses water taken from the Shinano River, aims to function in harmony with the river environment and coexist with the local community through such measures as installing fish- ways to make it easier for fish to swim upstream and releasing salmon fry into the river.
Restoring the Rich Edomae Sea Starting with the Takeshiba Tidal Flat
I run General Incorporated Association Takeshiba Town Design,
which aims to revitalize the community through the WATERS
takeshiba waterfront complex.
The Takeshiba Tidal Flat within the facility was developed together
with the opening of WATERS Takeshiba to restore the Edomae Sea
that once spread across this area. This valuable site offers local
residents the opportunity to coexist with nature within the city. It
serves as a place for environmental education, where people can
engage with the marine environment, and as a nature restoration
area, where they can experience the revival of nature.
On the second Sunday of every month, we hold Tidal Flat Open
Days, a program in which you can learn about the environment
while having fun, such as interacting with marine life in the tidal
flat and cleaning up trash from the water while kayaking. At the
Higata Club of the local Tokyo Metropolitan Shiba Commercial High
School and the Tidal Flat Fan Club, which brings together local
residents to restore the environment, participants take ownership
of issues facing the tidal flat and work to foster the environmental
vision of the Takeshiba Tidal Flat.
Of course, there are also challenges unique to an artificial tidal flat.
We faced much trial and error in keeping the sand moist as it dried
out and developing a framework to integrate it with the original tidal
flat while nurturing them together. Our aim is to operate the tidal flat
sustainably, incorporating expert knowledge and positioning it as
an open learning space.
Currently, we are seeing the Sand Bubbler Crab and coastal
plants, which were not seen before the development, taking root,
and steady progress is being made one step at a time toward the
restoration of the Edomae Sea. The style of participants themselves
getting involved in developing the tidal flat is becoming established,
and the Takeshiba Tidal Flat initiative is expected to develop further
as a model for nature positivity in restoring nature within the city
and nurturing it together with the local community.
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Higata Club -
Takeshiba Tidal Flat