Summary of theReport
Reportfor thefor theInternational
International
SeminarSeminaron Goho-Woodon Goho-Wood
2012
2012
(Part(Part1) 1)(Wood suppliers' side)

Name

Yasuhiro Ohashi

Title

Executive Director

Organization name

Japan Lumber Importers’ Association (JLIA)

1. Brief introduction of the organization






Established: April 1950, 63 years since its establishment. Voluntary membership association.
Purpose of establishment: To contribute toward the healthy development of the industry byconducting business necessary to promote the import of timber through mutual close
cooperation among import companies.
Scope of business: Collection and analysis of statistics on timber imports and theirdemand/supply; information/opinion exchanges with domestic and overseas timber industryassociations; and opinion proposals to government and industry.
Membership: 54 general trading houses, timber-specific trading companies, timber wholesalers,wood processors, etc. Among these, 40 members conduct timber import every month. Total
import volume by member companies is almost 10 million m3 (FY2011). This accounts foralmost 60% of imported wood or wood products to Japan (including logs, sawn timber ,laminated lumber , veneer, plywood, fiberboards, and particle boards).

2. Outline and dissemination of "Goho-wood" activities2004–2005: Survey on documents related to the shipment of imported wood and its actual
distribution, and a report to the Forestry Agency.
2006: Established JLIA "Group authorization system" based on guidelines by the Forestry
Agency related to the governmental procurements.
2010: Submitted a request letter to overseas wood industry associations asking for extra supplyof Goho-wood (including CoC certified timber)
Most members conducting actual timber import are already registered as JLIA authorizedsuppliers.

Most of JLIA members also obtained Forest and CoC certifications to conduct chain ofprocurement, supply and guarantee of Goho-wood (refer to table below). Among those withCoC certification, 29 members obtained FSC and 31 members obtained PEFC, with 25 members
obtaining both certifications. The quantity imported by JLIA members having CoC certificationaccounts for more than 90% of the total imported volume by all members.

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Transitionof members obtaining CoC certification(Japan Lumber Importers' Association:
CoC認証取得者数の推移（日本木材輸入協会・会員合計）
Total members)
2006年
2006
and before

以前

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

41114

1925

28

29

(Currently 29 companies)

71011182329

31(Currently 31 companies)

FSC:
PEFC:



(現在 29社)(現在 31社)

Goho-wood trade records (Target period: April 2011 to March 2012. Based on the report frommembers) Of the total import quantity of wood and wood products of 9,883,000 m3, 4,881,000m3 (49%) was verified to be Goho-wood; of this, 1,383,000 m3 was delivered to the domestic
market as Goho-wood.
(Item)(Total imports)
3(Goho-wood imports)
3(Goho-wood supply)Log

2,807,000 m

1,686,000 m(60%)

754,000 m3

Sawn timber

3,163,000 m3

421,000 m3(13%)

149,000 m3

Plywood

2,585,000 m3

2,266, 000 m3 (88%)

273,000 m3

Others1,328,000 m3

508,000 m3 (38%)

Total:

9,883,000 m3

4,881,000 m3 (49%)

206,000 m3 ___1,383,000 m3

3. Activities to secure credibility
Providing regular training seminars:
At the time of first authorization and its renewal every 3 years, we will visit respective member
companies to conduct training seminars for responsible managers and persons in charge. Inaddition, we intend to conduct additional trainings (2 times every 3 years) at the midterm of theauthorized period (3 years).

Conducting monitoring:
Monitoring is also conducted at the same time the above training seminars are held. We examine
member activities such as document filing conditions, description of management documents,
confirmation of procurement/supply results of Goho-wood, and examination of improvement
points.

To receive the trainings and monitoring, most of members have already obtained various
certifications including FSC-CoC, FSC-CW and PEFC-COC, and deeply understand theseparate custody management and document control. Accordingly, in the training seminar wefocus on enhancing understanding and active utilization of the certification method by utilizing
the “Group authorization system,” which Japan uses to supply and spread Goho-wood.

The names of responsible persons from JLIA authorized suppliers and their training history are28

posted on the website “Goho-wood Navi” and occasionally revised.
Visiting training seminars conductedso far:
2007: 41 members 191 persons
2009: 43 members 168 persons
2010: 31 members 123 persons
2012: 38 members 108 persons

4. Evaluation from the demand side

Since many domestic processors dedicate themselves to supplying Goho-wood, they often
request Goho-wood certification on the imported logs for raw materials. Whereas, in most of theimported sawn timber for the distribution industry, the need for Goho-wood from wholesalers,etc. has been relatively low.

In the recent two years, the need for Goho-wood has increased because homebuilders aresupporting the trend of environmentally conscious products, and Goho-wood certification ismentioned in the wood utilization promotion policy. JLIA aims to actively prepare andvoluntarily supply Goho-wood regardless of distributor or consumer demands.

Along with these changes in the current situation, overseas suppliers are starting to actively
supply Goho-wood to Japan. Also, the number of overseas suppliers obtaining CoC certification
has increased over the past two years.

Although the distribution industry, or demand side, has less capability to obtain CoC
certification, the need for Goho-wood including CoC certification will likely increase in thefuture. This is because CoC-certified timber supplied by overseas suppliers and importers (JLIA
member companies, etc.) can provide a chain of Goho-wood guarantee by using theassociation authorization system.

5. Problems to be solved
Although the situation is changing as noted above, the ratio of Goho-wood certification29

especially to imported softwood sawn timber is still low, remaining as a problem needing
improvement. The possible causes for this are: first, the verification method of a legality otherthan Forest or CoC certification has not been clarified in many countries; and second, timber
having the Forest or CoC certification is not actively supplied as an CoC certified timber.

Although overseas suppliers and importers (JLIA members, etc.) are registering CoC
certifications by paying grate costs, it is not too nice that many are not effectively utilized. We
are expecting early improvement of this situation, including establishment of an system that canverify the legality at overseas by some other means in addition to the Forest and CoC
certifications.

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