Updated by "Forest Circular Economy" Editorial Board on December 18, 2025, 5:40 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.
JVC KENWOOD and the National Federation of Forestry Unions (Zenmorinren) recently signed a cooperation agreement on "strengthening forestry labor safety measures. The two companies will promote the spread of commercial radio equipment that can ensure stable communication even in forests, conduct demonstration experiments in the field, and promote safety education. By developing a "safe and secure" working environment through communication technology, the two organizations aim to secure the number of forestry workers and realize sustainable forest management.
The forestry industry has a higher rate of occupational accidents than other industries, and the delay in calling for emergency services is a serious problem, especially when accidents occur "out of cell phone range" where there is no cell phone reception. Most of Japan's mountainous regions are located far from cell phone base stations, and the problem of being unable to contact the outside world in the event of a disaster has been a major barrier to saving lives.
In this collaboration, JVC KENWOOD will sell commercial radio equipment through the Zen-forestry network and lend verification equipment that can be used to study its introduction. Since the commercial radio equipment builds its own network, it is not affected by the presence or absence of base stations, and stable transmission and reception are possible even in forests. In addition, JVCKENWOOD's equipment is equipped with a dynamic detection function that automatically issues an emergency call and a data transmission/reception function for location information, etc.
Improving the safety of the working environment is a top priority for resolving the growing shortage of workers. The use of ICT is not merely a means to improve work efficiency, but a concrete solution to eliminate anxiety in the field and increase the rate of emergency lifesaving. In order to connect forest resources to the future, it is essential to first improve the infrastructure onsite.
