Tired of the relentless glow of city neon? Forget the crowded tourist routes and prepare for an adventure into Okayama Prefecture, a beautiful region in western Japan, home to the serene mountainside and the captivating islands. This year, Japan’s...
Itoki Corporation signed a Building Wood Use Promotion Agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in December 2025. The agreement establishes a framework for the company to expand its use of domestic timber in office...
A group of university students has launched an ambitious project to purchase and protect a 20-hectare forest in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, aiming to transform it into a sustainable food source and a national model for conservation. The initiative...
Construction firm AQ Group has affirmed its commitment to advancing a circular economy for timber by supporting the 75th National Arbor Day festival, held in Saitama Prefecture for the first time in 66 years. The company is championing the local...
Future with Forest Association has opened entries for the Future with Forest Sustainable Award 2025, designed to uncover commercially viable ideas that will allow people and forests to coexist a century from now. Announced on 13 June 2025, the award...
Japan has taken a fresh step toward sustainable forest management with a newly signed partnership between the town of Minakami in Gunma Prefecture and a Starbucks Coffee Japan. The agreement aims to leverage local forest resources and natural...
From the perspective of carbon neutral, the use of wood material has gained increasing attention in society. On the other hand, the broader area of unmanaged forest (which we saw in Part 1) is one of the significant issues in Japan regarding...
In Japan, forest accounts for around 70% of the entire land area, and the number comes third in the ranking of OECD countries, after Finland and Sweden. From the perspective of sustainability, these forests have multiple ecosystem benefits for both...
The Sugi no Chikara Co., Ltd. has launched Cedar Nyan, an innovative organic cat litter that not only promises potent natural odor and bacteria control but also supports employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Partnering with...
Japan boasts vast forest reserves, with forests covering 67% of the nation’s land. Remarkably, 41% of these forests are human-made. However, a significant portion has been neglected as forestry has become less valuable, particularly with the...