This is the second beach clean-up event hosted by the JERA Yokosuka Thermal Power Plant, following last year. On December 8th, 2024, with the cooperation of the NPO Umisakura and the Kurihama Neighborhood Association and the support of Yokosuka City, about 100 participants, including Yokohama DeNA Baystars players, joined forces to pick up trash on Kurihama Beach.

Powered up with the participation of about 100 people!
Cold wind won’t stop picking up trash

The Yokosuka Thermal Power Plant, located in Kurihama, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, is one of 26 thermal power plants owned by JERA in Japan. This thermal plant, located close to the city center, has been run with close ties to the local community, aiming to be a power plant beloved by the local Kurihama community, including plans for an area on the site to be open to the public in 2025.

As part of these community contribution activities, we held the beach clean-up at Kurihama Beach for the first time last year, and this year we are holding it again. As with the last time, we received encouraging support from the NPO Umisakura, which also organizes the Enoshima Beach Cleanup, and the Kurihama Neighborhood Association in Yokosuka City, and this event was made possible.

When we recruited participants, we found that the number of participants had increased by about 30 from last year to about 100! The Yokohama Thermal Power Plant staff who gathered on the day also expressed their joy, saying, “We were surprised that there were more volunteers than last year, we’re very happy!” and “It really makes us realize that our activities are made possible thanks to the support of the local community.”

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In addition, the Yokohama DeNA Baystars, a Central League professional baseball team with special sponsorship by JERA and has a farm facility in Yokosuka, also supported the beach cleanup as fellow community members. Players Kenji Nishimaki and Ryunosuke Aibara came to help pick up trash!

The opening ceremony started with a speech by Mr. Junichiro Furusawa, the representative of Umisakura. Ms. Yuka Aiuchi, General Manager of the Yokosuka Thermal Power Station, expressed her gratitude, saying, "I am deeply moved to see so many people gathered here, more than last time. I look forward to deepening our connections while working together. “Stay safe!” She included a greeting commonly used within the power station in her comments.

After a commemorative photo, the trash pickup activity officially began!

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A beach with no trash at a glance
If you get closer and look carefully…?

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A cleaning tool unique to beach cleanup was prepared again this time: a strainer. It is used to remove “microplastics” that have become mixed with the sand on the beach.
Microplastics are plastic pieces with a diameter of 5mm or less. Plastic trash that has flowed into the ocean deteriorates and crumbles into tiny fragments after being exposed to ultraviolet rays and water currents for a long period of time.

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If organisms eat microplastics in the ocean, not only it threatens their lives, but there is also the risk that plastics will be ingested into our bodies through the food chain, and this is currently a global issue.
According to Mr. Junichiro Furusawa, Representative of Umisakura, it is a shocking fact that 70-80% of the garbage that ends up in the ocean comes from our living space. When we think about the future of the Earth, we cannot ignore even the pieces of plastic buried in the sand.

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At first glance, Kurihama Beach appears clean, with no visible trash. Participants carefully watch their steps as they make their way along the beach, making sure they don’t miss anything.
Then, in one corner of the beach, they find evidence that a hole has been dug and trash dumped there! Inside are alcohol bottles and cans, cigarette butts, and more. This immoral behavior breaks our hearts.

Kurihama Beach is a place where activities like BBQ are not prohibited, but it is good manners to enjoy the beach without making a mess of the surroundings. We can only hope that by spreading awareness of the cleanup activities, this thoughtless behavior will disappear.

Picking up trash creates new circles of people in Kurihama

Many of the volunteers who came to pick up trash this time are regular participants in cleanup activities.
“I participate in the trash pick-up that a company I work for holds once a month.”
“I often participate in Umisakura’s Enoshima Beach Clean-up, so I came to Kurihama too.”
“I hope this activity will be held at other beaches in Yokosuka!”

One participant who regularly participates in trash picking said, “when you make friends at the activity, you want to participate again and again!” In fact, for this beach cleanup, there was a close-knit group of friends who met through volunteering, searched for events, found this activity, and came together! Trash picking activities not only beautify the environment, but also have the potential to create a community. As a business with roots in the local community, we are reminded of the importance of continuing these efforts.

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The two Yokohama DeNA Baystars players also enjoyed interacting with the participants while picking up trash!
“I could tell that all participants love Kurihama. Seeing the smiles of the participants who said “Congratulations on the championship!” made me motivated to keep doing my best.” (Mr. Nishimaki)
“It’s rare to have an opportunity to interact with local people like this, so it was fun to talk about all kinds of things. I’d definitely like to participate again!” (Mr. Aibara)

It was impressive to see the participants talking happily while picking up trash, and the whole small beach was enveloped in a peaceful atmosphere.
I felt that I wanted to continue protecting the warm circle of people by connecting the feelings of JERA and everyone, which is “we want to protect the clean town with our own hands.”

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Yuka Aiuchi, General Manager of Yokosuka Thermal Power Station and Mr. Junichiro Furusawa, Representative of Umisakura also share their thoughts about this project, now in its second year.
“There is a limit to what we can do on our own, so I’m really glad that so many people came together. We want to continue these activities, not only to protect the environment, but also to protect a place of communication in the community.” (Aiuchi, General Manager of Yokosuka Thermal Power Station )
“By taking the initiative, local residents can spread awareness of those close to them, which will advance environmental protection efforts and make nature more abundant. I feel that the cooperation of local people is essential.” (Mr. Furusawa, Representative of Umisakura)

The approximately one-hour cleanup time was over in a flash. Participants who had spread out to the edge of the beach returned with the trash they had picked up. The amount of trash collected that day was more than six 90-liter garbage bags full! The small beach looked clean at a glance, but everyone looked surprised at how much trash there was.

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At the closing ceremony, Shimada Yuichi, Head of Public Relations Group, explained to the participants the meaning behind the company name “JERA.”
“JERA operates with the intention of ‘bringing Japan’s energy into a new era’ in our company name. We will steadily generate electricity to support your daily life and take on the energy problems not only in Japan but also around the world, overcoming various obstacles on step at a time, such as securing the resources needed for power generation, preventing global warming, and costs,” said Shimada.

As a company being confronted with environmental issues, we have a mission to take action to protect the Earth, and we need to work with many of our colleagues to achieve this for a better future.
Like this Yokosuka Thermal Power Plant Beach Clean-up Project, we will continue to work to protect the environment and the bonds between communities, focusing on the areas where we have offices.

One step at a time, toward a big dream.
JERA will continue to work steadily toward a cleaner future, doing what we can.