Updated by "Forest Circular Economy" Editorial Board on January 15, 2026, 10:25 AM 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.
Bi-Will recently began offering J-credits for a new financial product developed by the Chugoku Bank. This is a "local production for local consumption" model in which the environmental value of "forest absorption systems" created in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions is returned to local businesses through deposits and private placement bonds. It aims to support forest conservation and decarbonization in Okayama, Hiroshima, and Shimane, and to realize sustainable local communities where the environment and the economy are in a continuous cycle.
The two eligible products are "Chugin J-Credit Deposit" and "SDGs Private Placement Bonds 'Offset Type'". The credits offered by Bi-Will are limited to "forest absorption" credits derived from forest management in specific areas, such as all of Okayama Prefecture, Kagamino-cho in Okayama Prefecture, Tojo-machi in Shobara City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Okuizumo-machi in Shimane Prefecture.
The most significant feature of this model is that it is a "local production for local consumption" fund circulation model in which the environmental value created by local forest conservation is returned to local businesses through local financial institutions. The "value of the forest" created by the Okayama Forest Improvement Public Corporation, local governments, and forestry cooperatives is then used to once again enrich the community through the medium of financial functions.
Through the intervention of the Bank of China, which is rooted in the local community, local companies will be able to offset the emissions associated with their own business activities with the value of "local forests. The accumulation of this kind of support, not only within a global framework, but also closer to home, will be the key to achieving local decarbonization, economic growth, and sustainable forest management.
