Lotte, City of Utsunomiya, and Utsunomiya Dental Association Sign Agreement on Promoting Oral Health for Citizens

Lotte Corporation (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Hideki Nakashima; hereinafter "Lotte") signed an agreement on June 24, 2026 (Wed) with the City of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture (Mayor: Eiichi Sato; hereinafter "Utsunomiya City") and the Utsunomiya Dental Association (President: Masato Jo; hereinafter "Utsunomiya Dental Association") titled "Agreement on Collaboration for Promoting Citizens' Dental and Oral Health." This marks the 31st collaboration agreement Lotte has established regarding oral health.

The three parties will collaborate and work together to maintain and improve the oral health environment of Utsunomiya citizens, aiming to support everyone in leading healthy and fulfilling lives through initiatives promoting dental and oral health.

Photo from the agreement signing ceremony held on June 24, 2026 (Wed) at Utsunomiya City Hall. From left: Masato Jo, President of Utsunomiya Dental Association; Eiichi Sato, Mayor of Utsunomiya City; and Nayoshi Noguchi of Lotte.

● Main Contents of the Agreement

- Promotion and public awareness regarding the importance of chewing and related correct knowledge

- Initiatives to promote citizens' dental and oral health

- Other health promotion activities based on the "Healthy Utsunomiya Plan"

- Provision of health-related information

- Supply of materials during disasters

- Other matters necessary for achieving the above objectives

* Since its founding in 1948, Lotte has contributed to improving dental and oral health among Utsunomiya citizens by leveraging its expertise in chewing and xylitol through various tools and initiatives.

● Agreement Signing Ceremony

Date: June 24, 2026 (Wed)

Location: Utsunomiya City Hall

Attendees: Eiichi Sato, Mayor of Utsunomiya City

Masato Jo, President of Utsunomiya Dental Association

Nayoshi Noguchi, Branch Manager of Lotte Utsunomiya Branch

● Comment from Nayoshi Noguchi, Lotte Utsunomiya Branch

"Lotte" derives its name from Charlotte, the beloved character in the masterpiece "The Sorrows of Young Werther" by the German literary genius Goethe. Our corporate message, "Your Mouth's Partner in Care," reflects our aspiration to remain a beloved presence for everyone, just as Charlotte is known as the "eternal beloved."

True to our corporate message "Your Mouth's Partner in Care," we aim to support oral health through the functional benefits of chewing gum and to contribute to a future where everyone can live happily for life.

This tripartite agreement was established with the goal of helping Utsunomiya City achieve its vision of becoming a city where everyone can live healthily and happily throughout their lives. We plan to contribute to public health initiatives by leveraging Lotte's unique strengths and technologies in areas such as oral frailty prevention, oral health education for adults, and promoting oral function development and dental health in early childhood.

Under Lotte's sustainability goal "Lotte Mirai Challenge 2048," promoting health enhancement through chewing is one of our key objectives. We continue to advance research and awareness activities related to chewing and health. Additionally, we are actively involved in initiatives such as promoting dental health in early childhood using xylitol.

Furthermore, to help reduce secondary health damage in the event of disasters in Utsunomiya City, we will provide xylitol-containing gum and tablets as tools to protect oral health, and will also support disaster victims through material donations and other measures.

Reference: What is Oral Frailty?

Oral frailty refers to "minor declines in oral health." If minor declines in oral function are left unattended or not properly addressed, they may lead to imbalanced nutrition and eventually to overall physical deterioration. Oral frailty is thus recognized as an important early indicator of aging.

In fact, ongoing surveys checking oral function among elderly individuals have reported that those with oral frailty face approximately double the risk within two years of developing "physical frailty" and "sarcopenia," and within four years of requiring long-term care certification or death (※).

※ Source: Tanaka et al. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2018;73(12):1661-1667

Lotte Corporation

https://www.lotte.co.jp/