Story of the Tree
In Japan, about 10.3 million hectares of forests are planted forests from the post-war period. Today, an estimated 8 million hectares of these forests are not actively managed due to economic and workforce constraints.
Forestry, timber, furniture, paper, and biomass are not separate industries. They are one continuous value chain that starts in the forest.
High-grade wood should always go to construction and furniture. That is its highest value.
What remains — the thinnings, small logs, branches, bark, and sawmill offcuts — should still have purpose.
Biomass is the final step in fully utilizing the resource.
The difference between managed and unmanaged forests
Japan’s forests are meant to be actively cared for over decades. Regular thinning allows sunlight to reach the ground, strengthens the remaining trees, and keeps the forest healthy and resilient.
When forests are not managed, they become overcrowded. Light cannot penetrate. Trees grow tall and thin, root systems weaken, and the forest floor loses diversity. These conditions increase the risk of landslides, disease, and storm damage.
Today, a large portion of Japan’s planted forests are not actively managed due to economic and workforce challenges. The issue is not the forest itself — it is the ability to support the work required to maintain it.
Forest management is not about cutting trees.
It is about preserving the beauty, safety, and long-term health of one of Japan’s most abundant natural resources.
Timber has many lives before it ever becomes energy
Wood does not go from forest to power plant.
A harvested tree first becomes timber for housing, furniture, panels, and paper. Only after these higher-value uses are taken does the remaining material reach biomass.
This is cascade use.
Biomass sits at the bottom of this chain — not competing with timber, but giving purpose to thinnings, small logs, bark, and sawmill offcuts.
This is how energy supports forestry, not replaces it.
Local forests. Local jobs. For Japan.
Unused Wood (Thinning)
Annual Generation
13,600,000 tons
FIT: 40 JPY/kWh
Sawmill Residues
Annual Generation
6,400,000 TONS
FIT: 13 JPY/kWh
Construction Material
Annual Generation
5,000,000 TONS
FIT: 13 JPY/kWh
What this means for forestry work
The effort required to thin and manage a forest does not change over time. What changes is how much of that work has economic value.
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Early thinning, nearly 70% of the material removed is low-grade wood.
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In mid-stage thinning, over 30% is still low-grade.
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Even in mature forests, more than 10% of the material has little value in traditional timber markets.
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Across the life of a forest, this low-grade material represents over one-third of the total economic value produced by forestry work.
If there is no buyer for this portion of the tree, a significant share of the forester’s effort produces very little return.
This is not a problem of the forest.
It is a problem of missing markets.
When there is consistent demand for this material, the exact same forestry work suddenly becomes far more viable. Thinning makes sense. Forests can be actively managed. And more of the value of the tree is captured over its lifetime.
This is where stable buyers for low-grade wood play a critical role in supporting forestry.
Biomass closes the loop back to the forest
When low-grade wood and residues have no reliable market, thinning becomes difficult to justify and forests remain under-managed.
By creating a steady, long-term demand for this material, biomass gives economic purpose to the parts of the tree that would otherwise be left behind.
This additional value does not compete with timber.
It supports it.
With more value per thinning operation, forestry work becomes more viable, forests can be actively managed, and more of the tree’s value is captured over its lifetime.
In this way, biomass revenue flows back to the forest — supporting healthier growth, safer landscapes, and stronger local forestry economies.
