Updated by "Forest Circular Economy" Editorial Board on June 20, 2025, 10:00 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 wooden cities, and encourage innovation in the forestry industry in order to fully utilize forest resources to decarbonize, strengthen economic security, and create local communities.
Takeei Forestry recently held its second tree-planting ceremony at a clear-cut site in a company-owned forest in Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture. The company's employees planted 150 low-pollen cedar seedlings grown in the prefecture, while the Hanamaki City Forestry Association, local government officials, prefectural high school students, and local company employees planted 17 Oyama cherry seedlings as memorial trees.
The planted low-pollen cedar trees are about 60 years old, the same as normal cedar trees, but the amount of pollen dispersed is said to be about half that of normal cedar trees. Currently, the production of low-pollen cedar seedlings in Iwate Prefecture is limited, but it is hoped that the increased use of these seedlings will contribute to forest improvement and future pollen allergy prevention.
The tree-planting festival was initiated in FY2024 jointly with the Hanamaki City Forestry Association with the aim of promoting the use of timber from Iwate Prefecture, utilization of forest residues, and reforestation. The tree-planting festival was attended by government agencies and forestry organizations, including the Hanamaki Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Center of the Agricultural Policy Department of the Iwate Prefecture Southern Regional Promotion Bureau, the Hanamaki City Agriculture and Forestry Department, the Iwate Prefecture Federation of Forestry Cooperatives, and the Iwate Prefecture Forestry Labor Relations Foundation. In addition, second-year students from Iwate Prefectural Hanamaki Agricultural High School, local forest owners in the Osawa area of Hanamaki City, San'ai Ryokoku, Watari Onsen Hotel Satsuki, and the Kaede Residence, as well as local officials, joined in the forest creation effort.
Tree planting is not just a corporate activity, but also an educational activity that deepens understanding of forests and fosters the next generation of forestry leaders by working together with local residents to plant locally grown saplings.
Takeei Forestry is also in the process of acquiring new company-owned forests. The expansion of forest maintenance in which companies actively collaborate with local communities will contribute to environmental preservation and at the same time promote the circulation of forest resources rooted in the community and revitalize local society. Sustainable forest management by local communities is expected to serve as a model case that will bring new perspectives to the maintenance and management of forests throughout Japan.