While Japan's forests, covering 68.5% of its land, hold an enormous growing stock of over 50 billion cubic meters, the nation's vibrant wood industry in 2022 saw a fascinating interplay of robust domestic production, strategic imports, and evolving consumption trends.
Key Takeaways
- Japan's domestic roundwood production in 2022 was 20.14 million cubic meters, consisting of industrial roundwood at 18.92 million m³ and fuelwood at 1.22 million m³
- Sawnwood production in Japan for fiscal year 2022 reached 12.3 million cubic meters, up 1.8% from the previous year due to increased domestic log usage
- Plywood production volume in Japan in 2022 was 7.85 million cubic meters, accounting for 65% of total wood-based panel output
- Japan's apparent wood consumption in 2022 was 72.5 million m³ R.E., down 1.2% from 2021
- Residential construction wood use in Japan 2022 accounted for 45 million m³, or 62% of total consumption
- Non-residential building wood demand in 2022 was 12.8 million m³, up 2% due to public works
- Export value of Japanese wood products in 2022 was 45.6 billion JPY, up 8% YoY
- Japan imported 38.2 million m³ of logs in 2022, 95% of total log supply
- Sawn softwood imports in 2022 totaled 16.7 million m³, mainly from Canada and Russia
- Forestry employment in Japan 2022 totaled 48,000 workers, down 2% from prior year
- Sawmilling and wood processing employed 92,000 persons in 2022
- Plywood manufacturing workforce in Japan 2022 was 28,500, with average age 52 years
- Japan's forest coverage is 68.5% of land area, totaling 25.0 million hectares in 2022
- Growing stock volume in forests reached 50.1 billion m³ in 2022, up 0.8% YoY
- Annual allowable cut for domestic forests is 25 million m³, but actual harvest 20% below at 18.9 million m³ in 2022
Japan's wood industry grew slightly in 2022, relying heavily on imports while managing domestic forests.
Consumption
- Japan's apparent wood consumption in 2022 was 72.5 million m³ R.E., down 1.2% from 2021
- Residential construction wood use in Japan 2022 accounted for 45 million m³, or 62% of total consumption
- Non-residential building wood demand in 2022 was 12.8 million m³, up 2% due to public works
- Packaging and container wood consumption in 2022 reached 8.2 million m³
- Furniture and interior wood use in Japan 2022 was 4.1 million m³, growing with remodeling trends
- Pulp and paper industry wood consumption in 2022 was 28.5 million m³ equivalent, mostly imported
- Wood pellet consumption for energy in 2022 hit 2.1 million tons, a 15% increase
- Per capita wood consumption in Japan 2022 was 0.58 m³ R.E., below global average
- Sawnwood consumption volume in 2022 was 28.4 million m³, 39% of total apparent consumption
- Wood-based panel consumption in 2022 totaled 22.3 million m³, driven by housing starts
- Structural plywood use in housing 2022 was 5.9 million m³
- OSB consumption in Japan 2022 reached 1.8 million m³, imported mainly from North America
- Hardwood plywood consumption grew to 1.2 million m³ in 2022 for interiors
- Wood for civil engineering in 2022 was 3.4 million m³, used in bridges and retaining walls
- Pallet wood consumption 2022 was 6.5 million m³, reflecting logistics growth
Consumption Interpretation
Japan's wood consumption reveals a nation firmly rooted in its homes, which demand over 60% of the timber, while its ambitions for energy, logistics, and public works are branching out, yet still leave each citizen holding, on average, a smaller piece of the forest than the rest of the world.
Employment
- Forestry employment in Japan 2022 totaled 48,000 workers, down 2% from prior year
- Sawmilling and wood processing employed 92,000 persons in 2022
- Plywood manufacturing workforce in Japan 2022 was 28,500, with average age 52 years
- Wood pellet production plants employed 5,200 workers in 2023
- Logging contractors numbered 12,400 in 2022, with 35,000 total forest workers
- Average annual salary for forestry workers in 2022 was 4.2 million JPY
- Women in forestry employment rose to 18% in 2022, or 8,600 persons
- Iwate prefecture forestry jobs: 4,500 in 2022
- Hokkaido wood industry employment: 15,000 in 2022
- Part-time forest workers numbered 22,000 in 2022, 46% of total
- Sawmill employment declined 1.5% to 45,000 in 2022 due to automation
- Training programs graduated 2,800 new forestry workers in 2022
- Average working hours for wood processors: 2,050 annually in 2022
- Foreign trainees in forestry: 1,200 in 2022, mainly from Vietnam
- Forest road maintenance workers: 6,500 in 2022
- Forest plantation thinning employment: 12,000 seasonal in 2022
Employment Interpretation
Japan's forestry sector, aging yet hanging on like a determined cedar, is being whittled down by automation while its future depends on a patchwork quilt of part-timers, foreign trainees, and a slowly growing contingent of women, all working longer hours for modest pay to sustain the nation's wood industry.
Production
- Japan's domestic roundwood production in 2022 was 20.14 million cubic meters, consisting of industrial roundwood at 18.92 million m³ and fuelwood at 1.22 million m³
- Sawnwood production in Japan for fiscal year 2022 reached 12.3 million cubic meters, up 1.8% from the previous year due to increased domestic log usage
- Plywood production volume in Japan in 2022 was 7.85 million cubic meters, accounting for 65% of total wood-based panel output
- Particleboard production in Japan during 2022 totaled 4.2 million cubic meters, with a 3.5% year-on-year growth driven by housing demand
- Fiberboard production in Japan for 2022 stood at 2.9 million cubic meters, primarily medium-density fiberboard (MDF) at 2.1 million m³
- Japan's wood pellet production capacity in 2023 expanded to 1.2 million tons annually, with actual output at 850,000 tons
- Lumber production from coniferous logs in Japan 2022 was 10.8 million m³, representing 88% of total sawnwood
- Domestic cedar (sugi) log harvest in 2022 yielded 9.5 million m³, down 0.5% from 2021 due to aging forests
- Cypress (hinoki) log production in Japan 2022 was 2.8 million m³, used mainly for structural timber
- Broadleaf log production in 2022 reached 1.7 million m³, with oak species contributing 45%
- Japan's total wood-based panel production in 2022 was 15.0 million m³, including plywood and particleboard
- Cross-laminated timber (CLT) production in Japan grew to 50,000 m³ in 2023, supported by new factories
- Wood chip production from domestic logs in 2022 was 4.1 million tons, used for pulp and panels
- Engineered wood products output in 2022 included 1.2 million m³ of glued laminated timber (glulam)
- Japan's biomass wood fuel production in 2022 was 1.5 million tons, mainly from forestry residues
- Prefectural production leader Iwate produced 1.8 million m³ of sawnwood in 2022
- Hokkaido's roundwood production in 2022 was 3.2 million m³, focused on softwoods
- Nagano prefecture's hinoki production reached 450,000 m³ in 2022
- Miyazaki's sugi log harvest in 2022 was 1.1 million m³
- Total domestic sawmill capacity utilization in 2022 was 72%, processing 15.6 million m³ of logs
Production Interpretation
Japan's wood industry in 2022 paints a picture of a sector cautiously modernizing—fueled by its own aging cedar forests for everything from structural lumber to plywood, while cautiously branching into particleboard and high-tech CLT to meet housing demands, all while trying to keep its sawmills humming at a respectable 72% capacity.
Sustainability
- Japan's forest coverage is 68.5% of land area, totaling 25.0 million hectares in 2022
- Growing stock volume in forests reached 50.1 billion m³ in 2022, up 0.8% YoY
- Annual allowable cut for domestic forests is 25 million m³, but actual harvest 20% below at 18.9 million m³ in 2022
- Planted forest area covers 10.2 million ha, 41% of total forests, with average age 48 years in 2022
- CO2 absorption by forests estimated at 140 million tons annually in 2022
- Forest certification (FSC/PEFC) area in Japan: 1.8 million ha in 2023, 7% of forests
- Illegal logging prevention measures covered 95% of imports via due diligence in 2022
- Reforestation efforts planted 80,000 ha in 2022
- Biodiversity in satoyama forests preserved on 5.2 million ha
- Forest road network totals 45,000 km, aiding sustainable management in 2022
- Carbon stock in Japanese forests: 4.9 billion tons in 2022
- Thinning operations treated 250,000 ha in 2022 to promote healthy growth
- Endangered tree species protection covers 150 species in national forests 2022
- Sustainable biomass sourcing certified 70% of wood pellets used in 2022
- Forest fire incidents in 2022: 1,200 cases, damaging 2,500 ha
- Wildlife damage mitigation in forests affected 15,000 ha in 2022
Sustainability Interpretation
Japan's forests are a masterclass in meticulous, almost fastidious, stewardship—so robust and overstocked they could hug the planet into submission, yet they're managed with such caution that they harvest less than they could while still absorbing CO2 at a heroic scale, proving that even in forestry, the national character is to build a beautiful, towering, slightly underutilized asset and then fret endlessly about its perfect, biodiverse, and fire-threatened future.
Trade
- Export value of Japanese wood products in 2022 was 45.6 billion JPY, up 8% YoY
- Japan imported 38.2 million m³ of logs in 2022, 95% of total log supply
- Sawn softwood imports in 2022 totaled 16.7 million m³, mainly from Canada and Russia
- Plywood imports volume 2022 was 9.4 million m³, valued at 450 billion JPY
- Wood pulp imports in 2022 reached 25.1 million tons, 80% from overseas
- Top log import source Russia supplied 12.5 million m³ to Japan in 2022
- Canada exported 8.2 million m³ of sawnwood to Japan in 2022
- US plywood exports to Japan 2022 were 2.1 million m³
- Southeast Asia log imports (Malaysia/Indonesia) totaled 10.8 million m³ in 2022
- Japan's wood product export volume to China 2022 was 1.2 million m³, mainly glulam
- EU wood imports to Japan 2022 valued 120 billion JPY, focused on high-value hardwoods
- Trade balance for logs in 2022 showed deficit of 1.2 trillion JPY
- Recovered wood import for panels 2022 was 3.5 million tons from Europe
- Vietnam's share of Japanese plywood imports rose to 25% in 2022, 2.3 million m³
- New Zealand radiata pine log imports 2022: 4.1 million m³
- Australia hardwood log exports to Japan 2022: 850,000 m³
Trade Interpretation
Japan's wood industry is expertly varnishing a trade deficit with imported volume while carefully carving out its own high-value export niche.
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