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8.26Tue 2025

Exploring raw biomass (2) "Softwoods and hardwoods" as different as "sharks and dolphins

Biomass, which lexically refers to the amount of living organisms (bio) (mass), as opposed to fossil resources such as oil and coal [...].

8.22Fri 2025

Paper and paperboard also function as social devices that "store and circulate carbon" [Cultivating the Future through Carbon Cultivation].

The most familiar "mass products of forest origin" around us are probably paper and paperboard. Notepads, newspapers, wrapping paper, [...].

8.21Thu 2025

Asunaro chopsticks are also used to bring good luck Japanese culture that connects the soul of wood

In my previous column, I wrote that Japanese chopsticks were originally "not a tool for carrying our food" and that "the material is made of wood [...].

Newsletter Registration] Connecting policy, industry, technology, and culture, we deliver ideas for a recycling-oriented society every week.

The Newsletter (free registration) provides a weekly selection of expert knowledge and the latest case studies from our website. We provide a wide range of decision-making support to those at the forefront of institutional design, business evaluation, research theme identification, and funding.

8.21Thu 2025

Wearing wood and drawing wood...Experience the possibilities of domestic timber at Expo 'Wood Change 2025' in Osaka, Kansai

The Forestry Agency is holding an exhibition "Wo [...]" at the Future Life Village at Expo 2010 Osaka-Kansai to introduce outstanding examples of the use of Japanese lumber.

8.20Wed 2025

People and Places to Survive the Summer Heat in Mountain Villages in Hokuriku: A Relationship of Sharing the Same Air with Those to Whom You Entrust Your Forests

As I write this on August 12, it is raining again in Hokuriku. The previous week, heavy rainfall had flooded the roads in Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, and caused self [...].

8.19Tue 2025

The Challenges Faced by the "Hozoku" Philosophy of Forestry Born in 18th Century Germany, a Time of Rampant Deforestation Reading "Forestry: German Forests and Japanese Forestry" by Yukikazu Murao (Part 1)

I am interested in the forestry industry in Germany. There are three reasons for this. One is that Germany is a country that has realized cultivated forestry alongside Japan. And [...].

8.18Mon 2025

The key to producing homogeneous polymeric materials from lignin is an interdisciplinary approach between chemistry and biotechnology [Cultivating the future through carbon farming].

Lignin is a major component of woody and herbaceous biomass, along with cellulose, but its non-regular and heterogeneous chemical structure [...].

8.15Fri 2025

The Growing Need for Broad-based Forester Training and Institutional Upgrading in a Japan with a Declining Population.

The starting point of the "circular forest economy" is forest management and forestry operations. How to develop and secure the leaders of the forestry industry is the same as other industries [...].

8.14Thu 2025

New EU Regulation "EUDR" is about to be put into operation to achieve zero deforestation.

Deforestation and degradation of the world's forests have become a serious problem (*1). In response to this situation, the international community is developing new regulations [...].

8.13Wed 2025

Utilization of oak-deficient trees as "Sastena benches" Establishment of a new recycling system for forest resources in the tourist resort of Hakuba, Japan

Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort, a member of the Japan Ski Resort Development Group, in cooperation with Yuasa Lumber and the North Alps Forestry Association, has announced a new ski resort in Nagano Prefecture [...].

8.13Wed 2025

Craft gin flavored with Abies sachalinensis born: Higashikawa Town, Hokkaido, a new model for utilizing forest resources at a publicly owned and operated distillery

On August 27, a publicly owned and operated "Tankyu Distillery" opened in Higashikawa Town, Hokkaido. Making use of local agricultural products and forest resources [...].

8.13Wed 2025

Differentiation through collaboration with building material manufacturers and designers is the key to growth.

Total demand for lumber has been declining for a long time, especially for construction lumber, the main use of domestic lumber, which has shrunk due to the number of single-family housing starts and demographic [...].

8.13Wed 2025

Machida City and Tamagawa Gakuen sign business collaboration agreement to use trees in public spaces as educational materials and for educational programs

Machida City, Tokyo, and Tamagawa Gakuen signed a new business collaboration agreement on August 12 to utilize and recycle trees in the city as resources [...]

8.12Tue 2025

Why Japan Needs a "Circular Forest Economy" Now: Resource Self-Sufficiency, Lifelong Growth, and a Resident-Financed Platinum Society

As Chairman of the Platinum Initiative Network and former President of the University of Tokyo, I have long been thinking about the future of Japan. Now, the world [...].

8.10Sun 2025

Wooden thread T-shirt from unused thinned wood Tackling the challenge of recycling domestic timber

phoneme, which offers unique apparel both domestically and internationally, uses "mokito" (wood thread), which is made from unused thinned wood, for its T-shirts [...]...

8.6Wed 2025

Energy company Sinanen supports Aoba Gumi's natural capital co-creation program to create a forest to nurture natural capital in Ashikaga.

Sinanen, an energy solutions company, has partnered with Aoba-gumi, a company that specializes in afforestation and forestry, to develop a forest in Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture, which is managed by Aoba-gumi [...].

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