NTT Group will become a Climate Action Partner of the Japan Professional Football League ("J-League") from 2023. Together with the J-League, we have launched the "TH!NK THE BALL PROJECT^®*1", in which we are working to create a "mechanism to facilitate participation in climate action by many people" and spread it to various regions. From 2024, the number of participating clubs will be expanded to 15, and from July 1 this year a smartphone app will be available to enable users to "support their favorite clubs by taking daily climate action. To solve climate change issues and create local communities, NTT Group, J-League, and J-Clubs will cooperate to promote climate action in various regions with fans, supporters, and local residents.

One of the pillars of NTT Group's medium-term management strategy is the "realization of a recycling-oriented society." Last year we launched NTT G×Inno^®*2 , a common group brand related to green transformation, as we work together as a group to realize a decarbonized society. The group is working together to realize a decarbonized society.

Since its inception in 1993, the J-League has been involved in hometown activities in cooperation with local communities. In recent years, climate change has threatened football and the very society on which it is based, so the J-League is also involved in climate action as an area where solving climate change issues and community development overlap.

While both parties were working on their own initiatives, they saw the potential of combining the content power of the J-League and J-Clubs with NTT Group's technology to spread climate action to more people, and realize a recycling-oriented society in various regions.

The "TH!NK" in "TH!NK THE BALL PROJECT" is a symbol of the idea of trial and error, not just knowing, but thinking and acting together.

Many people are "interested but not ready to act" on climate change issues, saying that they do not know what to do and that nothing will change if they do it alone. On the other hand, it is believed that many people would like to take action with others if they are invited to do so.

Therefore, the "TH!NK THE BALL PROJECT" aims to help people "know what to do," "enjoy and continue to do it," and "want to invite others close to them," by developing a system in which daily climate action becomes support for a favorite club and providing it through a smartphone application. We have started by developing a system in which such daily climate action can become support for favorite clubs and providing it through a smartphone app.

The smartphone application uses NTT Data's "fowald®*3". fowald is an application available in Japanese in which daily actions lead to the support of a favorite community.

While increasing the number of people participating in climate action through the smartphone application, the J-Club will act as a regional hub and promote changes such as having more water supply spots for bottles and EV buses close by, by collaborating with local businesses, local governments, and schools in various regions.

NTT East, NTT West, and other NTT Group companies involved in regional GX and regional development will join the collaboration to promote regional implementation of GX solutions.

Later this year, NTT Digital's digital wallet will be integrated into the fowald app, allowing app users to access web3 technology without having to use any special support. This will create a new usage experience that will make many people more willing to take climate action, such as issuing proof of climate action activity through the app as NFTs that cannot be tampered with or fabricated, or increasing the value of ownership by adding proof of NFT ownership to rewards.

NTT Group and the J-League will continue to work together with many fans, supporters, and local residents to solve climate change issues and realize regional development, while also expanding the circle of activities in various regions.

TH!NK THE BALL PROJECT
https://think-the-ball.com

NTT Data fowald
https://fowald.com/

NTT G×Inno
https://group.ntt/jp/group/nttgxinno/

¹"TH!NK THE BALL PROJECT" is a registered trademark of the Japan Professional Football League and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation in Japan.

²"NTT G×Inno" is a trademark of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation.

³"fowald" is a registered trademark of NTT DATA CORPORATION in Japan.