Opinion-exchange meeting; “Constructing a Timber Future for Urban and Rural Settlement“

In conjunction with the G7 Miyazaki Agriculture Ministers' Meeting, on April 24 (Monday), the Forestry Agency hosted an opinion exchange meeting participated by private and academic sector, entitled "Constructing a Timber Future for Urban and Rural Settlement.” Inviting Mr. Alan Organschi who also kindly delivered a keynote speech at the side event seminar of G7 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting as a guest speaker, academic experts and business enterprises exchanged their views on the topic of promoting sustainable forest management and use of wood in urban areas, which contributes to rural development as well. The overview of the meeting is as follows:

1. Date/Venue

Date：April 24, 2023

Venue： Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

2. Summary of the meeting

Lecture by Mr. Organschi and Ms. Gray

Further to his keynote speech at the side event of G7 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting, Mr. Organschi stressed the importance of making cities have the function of massive carbon banks, by altering construction materials to wood from prevailing mineral-based, fossil fueled materials, especially for mid- to high-rise buildings. Also Ms. Elizabeth Gray, his partner at Gray Organschi Architecture, introduced the examples of wooden architectural projects undertaken by their company.

Exchange of opinions

The session was moderated by Professor Koshihara Mikio of University of Tokyo, and the following participants respectively made their presentations.

◆ Mr. Morishita Yoshitaka, General Manager of Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.

◆ Mr. Yamazaki Shinji, Chief Engineer of Obayashi Corporation

◆ Mr. Ishikawa Shuji, General Manager of Takenaka Corporation

◆ Mr. Harada Masahiro, Founder of Mount Fuji Architects Studio, Inc.

In response to the presentations, Mr. Organschi and Ms. Gray appreciated in their comments that the private sector in Japan has been advancing projects under a holistic approach which covers forests in the upstream and buildings in the downstream, while combining new technologies with traditions of wooden architecture. Other suggestive comments from Mr. Organschi included, but were not limited to, the following elements.

While the height of a building is a convenient “measure” for technological competition, consideration may also be given to promote lower-rise wooden buildings in smaller, less densely populated cities and towns, reflecting the demands in those areas. This may require adaptation in designing, in terms of the buildings’ shape or landscape and taking into account the rural tradition
The urgent call for decarbonization is an opportunity to for building sector to be reevaluated. The use of wood, together with forest conservation and emission reduction, will create synergies between urban and rural areas, and bring about opportunities for new business innovation and employment.
Added value can be sought by recycling the wood used for buildings at the end of their life. It would be ideal if information regarding timber, from its acquisition to final reuse, could be integrated and managed from the viewpoint of carbon storage.

The Forestry Agency sincerely hopes that this meeting served for creating a new network among the business enterprises, academic experts, and the government, which will become a basis for collaborative work both at home and abroad, to further promote sustainable wood use especially in the building sector.

3. Presentation materials

Mr. Organschi's presentation material (PDF:18,070KB)

Mr. Koshihara's presentation material (PDF:3,362KB)

Mr. Morishita's presentation material (PDF:3,426KB)

Mr. Yamazaki's presentation material (PDF:3,628KB)

Mr. Ishikawa's presentation material (PDF:3,280KB)

Mr. Harada's presentation material (PDF:4,538KB)

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