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Japan Rain Forest

The Japanese rain forest is in danger

Over half of the world's organisms inhabit the rain forests, which adjust the circulation of the atmosphere, prevent climate changes, preserve water, prevent soil runoff, supply medical ingredients, support the life of indigenous peoples, and give many benefits to humanity. Within this century, more than half of these forests have been lost. Studies by World Resources Institute (WRI) estimate that 20,000,000 hectares are destroyed each year. And, a Study by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that around 1,300 hectares of tropical forest are destroyed each year.

Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation of Forest Mammals in Yakushima, Japan

Our research in Japan focuses on the behaviour and ecology of mammals in a warm temperate rain forest on the southern island of Yakushima. As well as studying relatively undisturbed areas of forest, we are also investigating the distribution and ecology of mammals in secondary forest and conifer plantations.

On the forest of Japan

Japan extends from Okinawa in subtropical zone to Hokkaido in subpolar zone. Because of sufficient rainfall needed for plants to grow, in correspondence to the plant growth belt of the world, we have, from the south to the north, subtropical rain forest, warmer conifer rorest. In Japan, the forest shares 67% of the land. The forest is composed of 1/3 each of natural forest, copse and artificial forest.

Dynamics and Maintenance Mechanisms of Forest Tree Communities and Ecosystems

I started my research on forest community dynamics in rather simple subalpine fir forests of central Japan, and then extended to more complicated warm-temperate rain forests in southern Japan and tropical rain forests in southeast Asia. It is my purpose, as well as pleasure, to resolve the wonder of complex architecture and diversity in various natural forest systems, now endangered by human exploitation.

Businessman Offers Lessons From Nature

Throughout his 40-year career at Tokyo-based electronics giant Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Takashi Kiuchi has been giving advice to fellow Japanese businessmen to help them become better corporate citizens, overcome their stodgy image and win acceptance in the West.

 These days, the 66-year-old former head of Mitsubishi Electric's North American operations is busy sending a new message to Japanese companies:

Save the planet. Kiuchi published a book in January, coauthored with environmental advocate Bill Shireman, "What We Learn in the Rainforest - Business Lessons From Nature." Its message: Companies must abide by the laws of nature - not try to conquer nature - if they hope to thrive.

Top corporate leaders in Japan show their global compassion.  Tokai Sangyo, Ltd., offers its authentic and life-saving germanium to the Americans.

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Japan Destroys

Japan is destroying the rain forests and the life and culture of the indigenous peoples who reside there!

The Japanese rain forest is in danger

Over half of the world's organisms inhabit the rain forests, which adjust the circulation of the atmosphere, prevent climate changes, preserve water, prevent soil runoff, supply medical ingredients, support the life of indigenous peoples, and give many benefits to humanity. Within this century, more than half of these forests have been lost. Studies by World Resources Institute (WRI) estimate that 20,000,000 hectares are destroyed each year. And, a Study by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that around 1,300 hectares of tropical forest are destroyed each year.

Destroying the life and culture of indigenous peoples

In Malaysia's Sarawak state, 400,000 hectares of forest are destroyed each year due to commercial logging. Commercial loggers have often cut down the indigenous peoples' ancestral forests without any consent, and even their burial grounds have been destroyed by roadways. The indigenous peoples live off of the forest's plant and animal life, as well as water and fish from the rivers. However, logging has destroyed the forests, polluted the rivers and decreased animal and fish life, making it difficult for the indigenous peoples to sustain their life. Malnutrition, as well as eye and skin disease have troubled indigenous people, pushing them to their emotional limit. The indigenous peoples have sought help from the government, hoping for an end to the destruction, but there has been no improvement. In April of 1987, they protested by blockading logging roads. Over 600 indigenous peoples were arrested in the anti-commercial logging protests, but the roadway blockades continued on.

Japan is eating away the rain forest

Although it has less than 2% of the world's population, Japan imports and uses more rain forest timber than any other country in the world, accounting for more than 40% of the tropical hardwood logs and nearly 30% of the processed tropical timber goods traded internationally.

Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, Japan bought up massive amounts of timber from the Philippines and Indonesia, and later from Sabah in Malaysia. Therefore, Japan is heavily responsible for the massive forest destruction that these countries have suffered. The Philippines became unable to export timber in the 1970's. And although all log exportation was banned in 1985 in Indonesia, it resumed log exportation again in 1998, and again in 1993 in Sabah.

From about 1985 to 1992, Japan was dependent upon the rain forests of Malaysia's Sarawak and Sabah states for 80-90% of its tropical log imports. Roughly half of the wood produced in Sarawak is exported to Japan. The large amount of Japanese timber importation still continues, depending about 60% of logs on Sarawak. Futhermore, Japan presently imports timer from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. In 1990, ITTO (the International Tropical Timber Organization) warned that unsustainable logging was being carried out in the Sarawak region. However, logging has so far continued to exceed ITTO's recommended limit, and resources are rapidly running out.

In Japan, 50% of the imported timber from tropical rain forests is used in construction, and 30% is used to make furniture. Wood that has taken 100 years to grow is routinely discarded after 2 or 3 uses on the average as forms for molding concrete, and furniture is thrown away every time someone moves. Even most private homes are torn down and rebuilt every 20 years or so.

Japan - Taking care of things too late in the game

80% of Holland's local governments, and several hundred German local governments have set up laws and regulations or made other efforts to stop or control the use of tropical timber. In the United States, San Francisco, Santa Monica, and the state of New York have also established regulations to prohibit the use of tropical timber in public projects. Dordrecht, Holland, has cut off all private trading and sales involving rain forest materials. The European Community and GLOBE (Global Legislators for a Balanced Environment) have passed resolutions to stop importing Sarawak timber.

As of December 1997 in Japan, around 150 local governments had announced policies or made some efforts to reduce tropical timber use. However, their specific means of reducing use have been totally insufficient, and regulations to ban tropical timber use have not been considered.

Source

Graphic - Location map of                Yakushima

Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation of Forest Mammals in Yakushima, Japan David Hill    Forest ecosystems throughout the world are under increasing pressure from human demands for wood, land and other resources. To minimise the risk of extinction of forest animals it is essential to know what their requirements are. Our research in Japan focuses on the behaviour and ecology of mammals in a warm temperate rain forest on the southern island of Yakushima. As well as studying relatively undisturbed areas of forest, we are also investigating the distribution and ecology of mammals in secondary forest and conifer plantations. Findings will have implications for the conservation of other temperate and subtropical forest ecosystems.

 

     Background - Yakushima

Yakushima is a mountainous island of about 500 sq km in the south of Japan. It has
the highest peak in Kyushu (Miyanouradake, 1,935 m), and the great range in altitude
has given rise to a variety of vegetation types. The three main ones (shown below)
are warm temperate forest from 0 - 800 m, cool temperate forest from 800 - 1,600 m,
and sub-alpine grassland above 1600 m. Research has concentrated on the warm
temperate rain forest on the lower slopes. The main field site is on the west coast of
the island, in an area called Hanyama. A narrow road passes through the forest, but
there is no human settlement or cultivation. This area supports relatively undisturbed
forest and falls within a new UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, one of only two in
Japan. Additional field sites are located in secondary forest and conifer plantations in
the same vegetation zone.

Most of my recent research has been done in collaboration with colleagues at two
institutes of Kyoto University:  the Primate Research Institute  and the  Center for
Ecological Research . Our work focuses on the ecology and behaviour of mammals in
the warm temperate rain forest. We are particularly interested in the effects of logging,
conifer plantations and forest regeneration, and the implications they have for
conservation. Much of our work has been on an endemic subspecies of monkey, the
Yakushima macaque (Macaca fuscata yakui), although we have also studied sika deer
and wood mice, and work has begun on insectivorous bats. This collaborative research
has beensupported by grants from the British Council, Tokyo and WWF - Japan.
 


                           Yakushima - three major vegetation zones
 
 

Recent Research

Macaque diet- Long-term observations of a small troop of Yakushima macaques
have shown considerable seasonal and supra-annual variation in the composition
of the diet. Leaves, fruit, seeds and invertebrates form the major food at different
times of year. Diversity of diet is also linked with the major food types. When fruit is
dominant in the diet, foraging tends to be concentrated on a few species, but when
leaves and shoots are the major foods the monkeys eat a much greater diversity of
species.

Food selection- Collaborative research with Peter Lucas (University of Hong Kong),
has investigated physical cues available to monkeys during food selection of leaves.
Monkeys selectively reject leaf parts with greater toughness. In this way they are
selecting the more readily digestible parts of the leaves, as we have shown that
toughness is correlated with fibre content across a range of leaf food species and
parts. This work was extended by Nicola Parillon for her PhD research at HKU. She
also investigated other physical cues of food quality, including colour.

Habitat disturbance- Much of the warm temperate rain forest of Yakushima has
been influenced by logging and conifer plantations. In 1994-1995 the Yakushima
Wildlife Conservation Project assessed the effects of disturbance on the ecology and
distribution of macaques and deer. Four sites were simultaneously surveyed by
volunteer field assistants over six months. The results indicated that habitat use is
adversely affected by disturbance, but that mature secondary forest is important
habitat for both monkeys and deer. Findings were presented at the International
Primatological Society's Congress in Madagascar in August 1998. Subsequent work
has examined the effects of disturbance on species composition of secondary forest,
and the influence of forest disturbance on other forest mammals.
 

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         - Current Work and Future Directions

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         - Biological Sciences Home Page
 

          Tengu - a yearling male
          Yakushima macaque
          (Macaca fuscata yakui).                                                      

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>> back BUSINESSMAN OFFERS LESSONS FROM NATURE Former Mitsubishi executive pushes for forest-inspired company ethos

Japan Times (clip/Feb 15,2002)

By Yuri Kageyama 　　Look people in the eye. Speak up. Do community work. Promote Americans to important positions. Throughout his 40-year career at Tokyo-based electronics giant Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Takashi Kiuchi has been giving advice to fellow Japanese businessmen to help them become better corporate citizens, overcome their stodgy image and win acceptance in the West. These days, the 66-year-old former head of Mitsubishi Electric's North American operations is busy sending a new message to Japanese companies: Save the planet. Kiuchi published a book in January, coauthored with environmental advocate Bill Shireman, "What We Learn in the Rainforest - Business Lessons From Nature." Its message: Companies must abide by the laws of nature - not try to conquer nature - if they hope to thrive.   Kiuchi, who also goes by the nickname Tachi, believes the most successful companies of the future will be the ones boasting the best ecological records. "No planet, no business," he says, warning especially of the threat of pollution. Kiuchi didn't always sound more like an activist than an executive. His awakening came about 10 years ago when his company in the United States received thousands of letters protesting the destruction of rain forests by a Mitsubishi group trading company. In the beginning, he was more intent on placating the activists to save his company's reputation. But their enthusiasm and conviction made him realize the easiest option was to join their fight. Kiuchi, now an adviser at Mitsubishi Electric, heads the Tokyo office of a group he helped found called Future 500, which brings together ecologically minded companies and executives. Ford Motor Co. and Nike are among the members. For Kiuchi, who boasts doing 1,600 push-ups a day and often rides his bicycle to work, shattering the stereo-type of the Japanese businessman has been lifetime mission. As Japan's companies grew to global status in the 1980s, they were often criticized as selfish money-grubbers trying to buy up America. In 1997, Kiuchi wrote the book, "Working in America," a manual of dos and don'ts for Japanese businessmen. His advice ranged from the mundane, such as "don't burp in public," to the bit more profound, "Think and act as an individual." He urged Japanese to sing up for volunteer work rather than stay late at the office, and ride on roller coasters rather than play golf. Masayuki Kohama, a former executive at electronics maker Hitachi, who has known Kiuchi for years, recalls how critical it was for Japanese to change their image to avoid being seen as a threat. "We saw our mission as fighting Japan-bashing," Kohama said. "Japanese were perceived as only caring about making money and taking it back home, rather than giving back to the community." As chairman of Mitsubishi Electric America from 1988 to 1997, Kiuchi worked to build the Mitsubishi brand overseas. The company's U.S. sales climbed 50 percent over those years. "Mr. Kiuchi has followed his passions even after returning from the United States," said Juichi Tsuda, a former official with Industrial Bank of Japan. "He's continuing to pout them in practice, and that's hard for a Japanese businessman." Kiuchi's youngest son, Junzaburo Kiuchi, a 28-yeard-old lawyer, says his father treasures time with his family and often takes his mother on trips abroad, perhaps to make up for the time he spent away from home for his job. "He tackles everything with a passion, and I love him," he said. In his latest book, Kiuchi tells the business world not only to save the rain forest but to learn from it. He describes a sky-diving trek into the Costa Rican rain forest to draw parallels between companies and nature, such as the cycles of life as applied to stages of management. The different species in a rain forest develop niche areas, he says in the book, and companies need to do the same. Kiuchi believes the days of go-go growth for Japan are over. And it's time to end the pursuit of a never-booming economy and seek a less consumption-oriented but emotionally enriching life. "Let's focus on actual living," he said.

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