The Basics of Japanese Forest Management

Japan is a nation made from forests and mountains. Around 67% of land is covered by forest, where 41% are artificial forests comprised mainly of Japanese Cedar (Sugi) and Japanese Cypress (Hinoki). These trees were planted in the post-war era and are ready for harvesting. Unfortunately, Japan’s self sufficiency for lumber has decreased from around 90% in the 1950 to the current 20%. The majority of lumber in Japan is imported from foreign nations in Europe and North America. This has had a drastic effect on Japan's forestry industry due to the decline in forestry workers. However, in recent years the government of Japan has taken initiative to revitalize the nation’s forests and forestry industry. The “Green Employment Program” has aimed to recruit more people to come work in the forestry industry. It is important to understand the basic process of Japan’s forest management as it provides an understanding to the current Japanese forestry industry and the issues they need to resolve. I was able to grasp the basic process with my time working with Hyakumori and want to share what I have learned.

Map displaying the different sections of privately, where the green lines show the different sections of forest own by different individuals

In Japan, forest management is conducted quite differently when compared to Canada. To be able to cut down the trees, we must first construct roads that allow us to be able to easily recover the lumber. In order to construct these roads, it is necessary to get permission from the owner of the forest. This is one main difference between Japanese and Canadian forestry. In Japan, forests can be privately owned by individual citizens, while in Canada, the majority of forests are publicly owned. Hyakumori has had to get 40 people's permission to thin about 10ha of forest. In order to get the forest owner’s permission a detailed plan is created which outlines the actions and whole process that will be conducted in the forest. These plans use data collected remotely and on-site and is then created using QGIS, which is a geographic information system software. QGIS is able to make a detailed map of the area and can help show which sections of the forests will be thinning or clear cutting. After receiving permission from the forest owner, Hyakumori is able to submit the government paperwork in order to prove permission was granted and that to receive government subsidies for the forest management work.

Hyakumori workers & I, after finishing measuring the forest area

On July 10, 2019, I was taken into the forest to help measure the area which will help Hyakumori decide if the area should be thinned, pruned, or clear cut. In order to measure the area accurately, we used a laser system. This system involves shooting a laser towards a board at specific marked points in the forest. From this, we are able to gather the distance and angles which help create the perimeter of the area. This data is then placed into the QGIS program which creates a detailed map of the forest and shows which specific areas will have some forest management activities occur. This map is part of the detailed plan that Hyakumori submits to the government and the companies which will thin, prune, or clear cut the designated forest area. This was my first time doing any type of this work, so it was interesting to see how it was done. There were multiple steep areas of terrain that needed to be measured and I found hiking around these areas the most difficult part. This is a crucial step in the Hyakumori’s forest management process, as the data collected go towards creating the plan for the trees in that area. This plan needs to be as accurate as possible to ensure that the forest is well managed.