Ohbunsha(President: Shigeo Kuroda, TSE Code: 9475) and its subsidiary Mapple Co. Agreement on the Promotion of the Introduction of Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities’.

MAPLE and Chiba Prefecture will work towards the realisation of carbon neutrality mainly through the development of charging infrastructure and the promotion of EV tourism at tourist attractions in the Minami Boso area. The main feature of this initiative is that it will be a double-play of and .

The development of charging infrastructure is essential for the spread and expansion of EVs, but it cannot be said to be sufficiently developed, especially in domestic tourist destinations. In order for EV users to travel with peace of mind, further expansion of charging infrastructure at tourist attractions is necessary.
Under these circumstances, Chiba Prefecture, which announced its declaration of virtually zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 in February 2021 and is working towards the realisation of a decarbonised society, and MAPLE, which has been providing EV chargers mainly at tourist attractions since last year to promote the spread of charging infrastructure, recognised the common challenges in the current environment surrounding EVs. The two organisations have signed a cooperation agreement to jointly promote the spread of charging infrastructure and EV tourism.

A major issue was that simply installing EV chargers did not increase the usage rate and the operators could not see the benefits of installing them. By implementing initiatives in conjunction with tourism promotions for EV users, we hope to create regions that are easy to visit with EVs, increase the rate of EV use in the region, increase the frequency of use of EV chargers and improve the ability to attract visitors to facilities where they are installed.
In addition, from the perspective of promoting the use of renewable energy, we will also promote the installation of solar panels, with a view to utilising electricity generated by solar power.