Updated by "Forest Circular Economy" Editorial Board on October 21, 2025, 2:56 PM JST
Editorial Board, Forest Circular Economy
Forestcircularity-editor
We aim to realize "Vision 2050: Japan Shines, Forest Circular Economy" promoted by the Platinum Forest Industry Initiative. We will disseminate ideas and initiatives to promote biomass chemistry, realize woody and lumbery communities, and encourage innovation in the forestry industry in order to fully utilize forest resources to decarbonize the economy, strengthen economic security, and create local communities.
Tokyo Tatemono, in collaboration with LIVERNESS, recently launched "MOKUTEI," a project that allows city dwellers to regenerate a natural forest while living in the city, at the Tokyo Tatemono Yaesu Building. The project aims to restore nature with the actual participation of city dwellers and improve their wellbeing through this process.
The concept of this project is "From a forest for the city to a city for the forest. This unique initiative involves the cultivation of saplings by the people gathered in the city in a space made of substandard waste wood. The project will reproduce in an urban space the phenomenon of "fallen tree renewal," a natural process in which new trees grow on the foundation of old trees that have fallen due to life span, natural disasters, or logging.
The wood used in the project is wood that has character but is difficult to value as common wood, such as cracks caused by lightning or fusion of two trees. The saplings and plantings are said to have recreated the ecosystem of Hinohara Village, Nishitama County, Tokyo, where the wood originated. The plan is for building workers, visitors, and other passersby to water the saplings, and after one to two years, the grown saplings will be planted in the natural environment of Hinohara Village.
MOKUTEI" is part of the "Regenerative City Demonstration Project," which reflects the concept of "regeneration," the continuous creation of multidimensional value for multiple stakeholders, while simultaneously pursuing the wellbeing of the earth, society, and people. It is part of the Regenerative City Demonstration Project.
The unique feature of this initiative is that it offers urban dwellers a new way to interact with nature, "contributing to forest regeneration and biodiversity conservation while staying in the city. The experience of people becoming a kind of leader in reforestation, rather than merely using or consuming timber, is expected to contribute to improving the wellbeing of participants and to arouse their interest in Japanese forests and environmental issues, making them more familiar with them. Tokyo Tatemono intends to develop this project in diverse locations in the future, and it has the potential to present an urban way of creating a prosperous future that goes beyond sustainability.
Reference Links
Launch of "MOKUTEI," a project to restore a natural forest while people stay in the city
LIVERNESS and Tokyo Tatemono to Launch Demonstration Project in Yaesu, Nihonbashi, and Kyobashi Areas for Realization of Regenerative City
