Japan’s apparent wood consumption fell to 72.5 million m³ in 2022, down 1.2% from the prior year. Residential construction drove most demand at 45 million m³, about 62% of the total. Outside housing, wood use stretched into public works and energy, with wood pellet consumption rising 15% to 2.1 million tons.
Key Takeaways
- Japan's apparent wood consumption in 2022 was 72.5 million m³ R.E., down 1.2% from 2021
- Forestry employment in Japan 2022 totaled 48,000 workers, down 2% from prior year
- 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
- Japan's forest coverage is 68.5% of land area, totaling 25.0 million hectares in 2022
- Export value of Japanese wood products in 2022 was 45.6 billion JPY, up 8% YoY
Japan’s wood industry shows strong demand and steady production, supporting growth across the sector.
Related reading
01 · Category
Consumption15 stats
01
Japan's apparent wood consumption in 2022 was 72.5 million m³ R.E., down 1.2% from 2021
02
Residential construction wood use in Japan 2022 accounted for 45 million m³, or 62% of total consumption
03
Non-residential building wood demand in 2022 was 12.8 million m³, up 2% due to public works
04
Packaging and container wood consumption in 2022 reached 8.2 million m³
05
Furniture and interior wood use in Japan 2022 was 4.1 million m³, growing with remodeling trends
06
Pulp and paper industry wood consumption in 2022 was 28.5 million m³ equivalent, mostly imported
07
Wood pellet consumption for energy in 2022 hit 2.1 million tons, a 15% increase
08
Per capita wood consumption in Japan 2022 was 0.58 m³ R.E., below global average
09
Sawnwood consumption volume in 2022 was 28.4 million m³, 39% of total apparent consumption
10
Wood-based panel consumption in 2022 totaled 22.3 million m³, driven by housing starts
11
Structural plywood use in housing 2022 was 5.9 million m³
12
OSB consumption in Japan 2022 reached 1.8 million m³, imported mainly from North America
13
Hardwood plywood consumption grew to 1.2 million m³ in 2022 for interiors
14
Wood for civil engineering in 2022 was 3.4 million m³, used in bridges and retaining walls
15
Pallet wood consumption 2022 was 6.5 million m³, reflecting logistics growth
Interpretation
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.
02 · Category
Employment16 stats
01
Forestry employment in Japan 2022 totaled 48,000 workers, down 2% from prior year
02
Sawmilling and wood processing employed 92,000 persons in 2022
03
Plywood manufacturing workforce in Japan 2022 was 28,500, with average age 52 years
04
Wood pellet production plants employed 5,200 workers in 2023
05
Logging contractors numbered 12,400 in 2022, with 35,000 total forest workers
06
Average annual salary for forestry workers in 2022 was 4.2 million JPY
07
Women in forestry employment rose to 18% in 2022, or 8,600 persons
08
Iwate prefecture forestry jobs: 4,500 in 2022
09
Hokkaido wood industry employment: 15,000 in 2022
10
Part-time forest workers numbered 22,000 in 2022, 46% of total
11
Sawmill employment declined 1.5% to 45,000 in 2022 due to automation
12
Training programs graduated 2,800 new forestry workers in 2022
13
Average working hours for wood processors: 2,050 annually in 2022
14
Foreign trainees in forestry: 1,200 in 2022, mainly from Vietnam
15
Forest road maintenance workers: 6,500 in 2022
16
Forest plantation thinning employment: 12,000 seasonal in 2022
Interpretation
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.
03 · Category
Production20 stats
01
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
02
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
03
Plywood production volume in Japan in 2022 was 7.85 million cubic meters, accounting for 65% of total wood-based panel output
04
Particleboard production in Japan during 2022 totaled 4.2 million cubic meters, with a 3.5% year-on-year growth driven by housing demand
05
Fiberboard production in Japan for 2022 stood at 2.9 million cubic meters, primarily medium-density fiberboard (MDF) at 2.1 million m³
06
Japan's wood pellet production capacity in 2023 expanded to 1.2 million tons annually, with actual output at 850,000 tons
07
Lumber production from coniferous logs in Japan 2022 was 10.8 million m³, representing 88% of total sawnwood
08
Domestic cedar (sugi) log harvest in 2022 yielded 9.5 million m³, down 0.5% from 2021 due to aging forests
09
Cypress (hinoki) log production in Japan 2022 was 2.8 million m³, used mainly for structural timber
10
Broadleaf log production in 2022 reached 1.7 million m³, with oak species contributing 45%
11
Japan's total wood-based panel production in 2022 was 15.0 million m³, including plywood and particleboard
12
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) production in Japan grew to 50,000 m³ in 2023, supported by new factories
13
Wood chip production from domestic logs in 2022 was 4.1 million tons, used for pulp and panels
14
Engineered wood products output in 2022 included 1.2 million m³ of glued laminated timber (glulam)
15
Japan's biomass wood fuel production in 2022 was 1.5 million tons, mainly from forestry residues
16
Prefectural production leader Iwate produced 1.8 million m³ of sawnwood in 2022
17
Hokkaido's roundwood production in 2022 was 3.2 million m³, focused on softwoods
18
Nagano prefecture's hinoki production reached 450,000 m³ in 2022
19
Miyazaki's sugi log harvest in 2022 was 1.1 million m³
20
Total domestic sawmill capacity utilization in 2022 was 72%, processing 15.6 million m³ of logs
Interpretation
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.
More related reading
04 · Category
Sustainability16 stats
01
Japan's forest coverage is 68.5% of land area, totaling 25.0 million hectares in 2022
02
Growing stock volume in forests reached 50.1 billion m³ in 2022, up 0.8% YoY
03
Annual allowable cut for domestic forests is 25 million m³, but actual harvest 20% below at 18.9 million m³ in 2022
04
Planted forest area covers 10.2 million ha, 41% of total forests, with average age 48 years in 2022
05
CO2 absorption by forests estimated at 140 million tons annually in 2022
06
Forest certification (FSC/PEFC) area in Japan: 1.8 million ha in 2023, 7% of forests
07
Illegal logging prevention measures covered 95% of imports via due diligence in 2022
08
Reforestation efforts planted 80,000 ha in 2022
09
Biodiversity in satoyama forests preserved on 5.2 million ha
10
Forest road network totals 45,000 km, aiding sustainable management in 2022
11
Carbon stock in Japanese forests: 4.9 billion tons in 2022
12
Thinning operations treated 250,000 ha in 2022 to promote healthy growth
13
Endangered tree species protection covers 150 species in national forests 2022
14
Sustainable biomass sourcing certified 70% of wood pellets used in 2022
15
Forest fire incidents in 2022: 1,200 cases, damaging 2,500 ha
16
Wildlife damage mitigation in forests affected 15,000 ha in 2022
Interpretation
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.
05 · Category
Trade16 stats
01
Export value of Japanese wood products in 2022 was 45.6 billion JPY, up 8% YoY
02
Japan imported 38.2 million m³ of logs in 2022, 95% of total log supply
03
Sawn softwood imports in 2022 totaled 16.7 million m³, mainly from Canada and Russia
04
Plywood imports volume 2022 was 9.4 million m³, valued at 450 billion JPY
05
Wood pulp imports in 2022 reached 25.1 million tons, 80% from overseas
06
Top log import source Russia supplied 12.5 million m³ to Japan in 2022
07
Canada exported 8.2 million m³ of sawnwood to Japan in 2022
08
US plywood exports to Japan 2022 were 2.1 million m³
09
Southeast Asia log imports (Malaysia/Indonesia) totaled 10.8 million m³ in 2022
10
Japan's wood product export volume to China 2022 was 1.2 million m³, mainly glulam
11
EU wood imports to Japan 2022 valued 120 billion JPY, focused on high-value hardwoods
12
Trade balance for logs in 2022 showed deficit of 1.2 trillion JPY
13
Recovered wood import for panels 2022 was 3.5 million tons from Europe
14
Vietnam's share of Japanese plywood imports rose to 25% in 2022, 2.3 million m³
15
New Zealand radiata pine log imports 2022: 4.1 million m³
16
Australia hardwood log exports to Japan 2022: 850,000 m³
Interpretation
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.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Megan Gallagher. (2026, February 13). Japan Wood Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/japan-wood-industry-statistics
MLA
Megan Gallagher. "Japan Wood Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/japan-wood-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Megan Gallagher. 2026. "Japan Wood Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/japan-wood-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
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