The government said in an annual report adopted Tuesday that it aims to halve the amount of cedar pollen in the country in 30 years by reducing the area of artificial cedar forests by about 20% over the next decade.
The White Paper on Forests and Forestry, which was adopted at a Cabinet meeting that day, includes a special chapter on hay fever for the first time.
In the report, the government pledged to accelerate the clearing of artificial cedar forests and their replacement with plants that emit less pollen.
The report notes that artificial forests created after the end of World War II to conserve land and meet growing demand for timber are reaching a stage where the trees can be felled and used. It pointed out that it is necessary for the entire society, including consumers, to make efforts to revive the demand for wood.
The total area of artificial forests in Japan has doubled from about 5 million hectares in 1949 to about 10 million hectares today. Cedar forests cover approximately 40% of the total area.
In May 2023, the government outlined a list of measures to tackle hay fever, including identifying priority areas near towns for felling cedar trees and replacing them with other trees, increasing the demand for cedar wood that used in construction, and introducing high-quality forestry machinery to improve work efficiency.
