Promoting Sustainable Wood Use for
Carbon Neutral

5th Dec.2023
Miho ECHIZEN
Forestry Agency

2State of Japan’s Forests
Land use

Forest area(= 2/3 of land area)

Other
1.97

Residential (5%)
Agricultural[million ha]

6.43(17%)4.37(12%)Total
Landarea

25.03
(66%)

Forest37.80

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)”White paper on Land 2022” (land area data are of 2020)

Planted forest and its species ratio[million ha]

Naturaland otherforest

Plantedforest

14.84(59%)

10.20(41%)

Forestarea

4.44(44%)

Japanese cedar2.60(25%)

Japanese cypress

0.98(10%)2.19(21%)

Japanese larch
OtherPlanted forest areaby tree species

Source: Forestry Agency, MAFF “State of Forest Resources” (As of 31 March 2017)3

Reforestation from Over Exploitation

Devastated forests in Shiga prefecture, 1913

Planting effort for erosion control, 1914

Restored forests, 20184

Forest Resources Available for Use
Planted forest age distribution

Forest stock(as of 2017)
Area

Stock

20060

[100 million m3]

13 10 9 170~95~85~75~65~55~45~35~25~15~50Age class[years after planting]Source: Forestry Agency, MAFF “State of Forest Resources” (As of 31 March 2017)

13.9

5.6 8.0

13.6

16.0

S41 S51 S61 H2

17.8
34.0

15.9

18.9

33.1
23.4

26.5

30.4

Six-fold increaseover 50 years
2020

19 16

10

13.3

17.0

18.6

19.3 20.2

20173415.4

1990

1635

15.0

1986

7 10 11

2220

18.9

21.9

1976

58
50

28.6

308985

31.4

34.8

44.3

2012

40

111
100

40.4

1966

150

50

2007

159
153
143

54.1
■ Natural and other forest
52.4■ Planted forest
49

2002

50% are over
50 years of age

1995[10,000 ha]

H7 H14 H19 H24 H29 R2

Year5Sustainable Circular Use of Forest Resources
Well-being
and recreation

carbon storage
in products

CO2Harvest
Water resource/
Land conservation

Use

Regenerationcutting

Sustainable forest
management

Biodiversity

Grow

Plant

Thinning

Revitalization oflocal economy

Planting

Substitution ofenergy-intensive
materials

Weeding

CO2
CO2

CO2

Carbon sinkand storage

Sustainable wood use
is achieved throughsustainable forest
management.
6

Measures to Promote Sustainable Wood Use

Mid- to high-rise and non-residential buildings7Legislation to Promote Wooden Construction
Act on Promotion of Wood Use in Buildings to Contribute to theRealization of a Decarbonized Society (2021)(formerly Act on Promotion of Wood Use in Public Buildings (2010))

Contribution to net-zero clearly stipulated in thepurpose of the Act and its amended title
Scope expanded to include private buildings
Provisions introduced for public-private “Agreement
on Promoting Wood Use in Buildings”

Example of a public-private
Agreement
National or local
government• Plan forwood use• Technical advice• Information

Building owner“Wood Use Promotion Day” (8 October) and “WoodUse Promotion Month” (October) established
Wood Use Promotion Headquarters established at
the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
8Development of High-performance Structural Wood Products
Promote the development and dissemination of mass timber
technologies for mid- to high-rise wooden buildings.
CLT (Cross Laminated Timber)laminated by gluing・CLT can shorten construction time and simplify
foundation construction
・Roadmap to promote the use of CLT;
technological development in order to expand
the CLT use, dissemination of architecturaldesign methods of wooden buildings, etc.

Fire-resistant wood products
・Fire-resistant materials has beendeveloped to unlock potential of high-risewooden buildings in urban areas.
・3-hour-long fire-resistant materials enable
wooden buildings of any number of stories
under the Building Code.
9Urban Wood Construction in the Metropolis of Tokyo
One of the world's largest wooden building will be built
in the metropolis of Tokyo.
head office building of a insurancecompany
20-storey, 100m highWorld's largest amount of wood usedin construction
Achieved the highest grade of
Platinum precertification in LEED®
Construction to be completed in 2028
10Establishment of Public-Private Partnerships“The Wood Change Council”, a public-private sector council, was establishedto promote the use of timber in private buildings.
“Wood Change”: Using wood to change towards sustainable societyChange everyday items to woodIncorporate wood into everyday life
Building with wood etc.

Midto high-rise and non-residential buildings
A guide to smallExamples of wooden
scale wooden officebuildings

interiors and theirStandard designs foreffects
wooden mid-rise
Case studies of high-risebuildings
wooden building

Source: Wood Change Council

Promotional materials including standard designsof wooden buildings, and the significance and benefits of wood use.

11Encourage Lifestyle Change among Consumers
Award for outstanding
wooden products
Promote awareness of wood benefits

moku-iku“木育” = Wood Education
Exposing to wooden toys andwoodworking from childhood

12Support Sustainable Wood Use as an International Cooperation
Forestry Agency has been supporting wood use promotional projects
in Viet Nam, Thailand and Indonesia through contribution to ITTO
(2021-)
Improvement ofPolicy Frameworks

Strengthened Capacityof the Stakeholders

Assist Wood Use
promotionalActivities

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