Forestry in Japan

Abstract

Japan has a total productive forest area of 25 million ha of which 31% is owned by the state and 69% is owned by municipalities and the private sector. The total volume of growing stock is 2 484 million m3, of which plantations account for 42% and natural forest 58%. The average volume of growing stock is about 100 m3 ha. The average annual growth and removal are estimated to be 70 million and 40 million m3, respectively. There are three main forest zones; subfrigid in the north, temperate in the centre and warm temperate in the south. Regeneration was recognized as vital to the country's wood supply and environmental reconstruction after the destruction during the Second World War. The average annual planting area is about 200 000 ha with the largest area ever planted, in 1954, accounting for 432 700 ha. Skyline harvesting systems are common except in the northern area of Hokkaido. The Japanese Forestry Agency is the central forestry organization which has the leading role in providing management guidance for private forest owners. Forestry research is conducted by the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, and by prefectural (equivalent to provincial) and university forest experiment stations. The pulp and paper manufacturing technology is quite advanced. Almost the entire quantity of paper and paperboard needed in Japan is produced domestically, but more than 60% of the raw timber requirement is supplied by imports.