Nakatsu City partners with Oita Bank for forest J-Credit scheme

Nakatsu City in Oita Prefecture formed a four party collaboration agreement to achieve carbon neutrality through the creation and distribution of J-Credits. The local government partnered with the Yamakunigawa Basin Forestry Cooperative, The Oita Bank, Ltd. and Tokyo based climate asset developer Bywill Inc. to stimulate regional decarbonisation and economic revitalisation.

The collaboration aims to align environmental conservation with economic growth. Nakatsu City declared its commitment to becoming a Zero Carbon City by 2050 in June 2023. To support this target, the municipality will generate J-Credits, a Japanese government certified scheme that quantifies greenhouse gas emission reductions and absorptions. Specifically, the Yamakunigawa Basin Forestry Cooperative will act as the project implementer, managing city owned forests to increase carbon dioxide absorption. The municipality participates by registering this environmental value as tradeable J Credits.

The collaboration stems from a prior customer referral agreement established between The Oita Bank and Bywill in March 2024. The bank introduced the municipal and forestry stakeholders to Bywill to facilitate the carbon credit creation process. Connecting financial institutions, local government, and forestry experts allows the framework to provide the necessary services, know how and market access to monetise environmental efforts. Buyers of these credits can offset their own emissions, while the revenue flows back into Nakatsu City to fund further sustainable development.

The cross sector partnership in Oita Prefecture is a way for sustainable finance to drive a circular economy, preservating the local woodlands’ direct benefits to the community’s economic and environmental resilience.