The Shrinking Profitability of Small-Scale Forestry in Japan and Some Recent Policy Initiatives to Reverse the Trend

About 80% of annual wood fiber consumption in Japan is imported. Even though most of the land surface is covered by forests in Japan, the domestic forestry and forest industry are threatened by such imports flooding the local market. Fragmented land ownership, steep terrain, rapid growth of weeds, and high labor costs have all contributed to the decline of domestic forestry. Further, the purchasing power of the Japanese Yen has become very strong in recent years, and the decreasing prices of imported timber have depressed the prices of domestic timber, eroding profitability and discouraging small-scale forestry. In spite of these difficult circumstances, there are several interesting new developments in Japanese forestry. One is the revision of the Basic Forestry Law of 1964, through which the Japanese government is steering forest policy from timber production towards environmental services. Because of this change, new ways to assist rural forestry activities will become available in the near future. Another change is the certification movement, where recent examples of Japanese companies acquiring ISO 14001 and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest certifications provide hope to depressed domestic forestry activities. In particular, FSC group certification is useful in motivating small-scale forest owners to implement and maintain sustainable forestry practices

Relationship between Japanese official development assistance and tropical timber harvest levels in three southeast Asian countries

Japan is the biggest importer of tropical logs in the world, and most of them are from Southeast Asia. It is also a major offerer of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to this area. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the relationship between Japanese bilateral ODA to three Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia) and tropical timber harvest levels in these countries. Two different methods are applied: econometric timber market model analysis and the Granger causality test. Timber market model analysis shows a significant correlation between Japanese bilateral ODA and timber harvest levels in Indonesia and in Malaysia. It also shows a significant correlation between timber harvest levels in Malaysia and the number of new housing construction starts in Japan. There is no significant relationship for the Philippines. The Granger causality test shows clear evidence of causality from Japanese housing construction to timber harvest levels in Indonesia, and also to Japanese bilateral ODA to Indonesia. It shows evidence of causality from timber harvest levels in Malaysia to Japanese bilateral ODA to Malaysia, too. There are no causal effects among timber harvest levels in the Philippines, Japanese bilateral ODA to the Philippines, and Japanese housing construction. All of the results can be explained in a reasonable manner by considering political, economic, and forestry situations of the three Southeast Asian countries and Japan

Potential Activity of Amrubicin as a Salvage Therapy for Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin with an aggressive clinical course. Although anthracycline- and platinum-based regimens are empirically used as first-line treatments for metastatic or unresectable cases, no salvage therapy has been established. A 73-year-old man with platinum-refractory recurrent MCC was treated with amrubicin. The symptoms improved soon, and a partial response was achieved. A total of nine cycles of amrubicin were administered in nine months with manageable adverse events until disease progression was finally observed. The present findings suggest the potential of amrubicin monotherapy as a second-line therapy for patients with advanced/recurrent MCC

Methylation at the C-3′ in D-Ring of Strigolactone Analogs Reduces Biological Activity in Root Parasitic Plants and Rice

Strigolactones (SLs) regulate plant development and induce seed germination in obligate root parasitic weeds, e.g. Striga spp. Because organic synthesis of natural SLs is laborious, there is a large need for easy-to-synthesize and efficient analogs. Here, we investigated the effect of a structural modification of the D-ring, a conserved structural element in SLs. We synthesized and investigated the activity of two analogs, MP13 and MP26, which differ from previously published AR8 and AR36 only in the absence of methylation at C-3′. The de-methylated MP13 and MP26 were much more efficient in regulating plant development and inducing Striga seed germination, compared with AR8. Hydrolysis assays performed with purified Striga SL receptor and docking of AR8 and MP13 to the corresponding active site confirmed and explained the higher activity. Field trials performed in a naturally Striga-infested African farmer’s field unraveled MP13 as a promising candidate for combating Striga by inducing germination in host’s absence. Our findings demonstrate that methylation of the C-3′ in D-ring in SL analogs has a negative impact on their activity and identify MP13 and, particularly, MP26 as potent SL analogs with simple structures, which can be employed to control Striga, a major threat to global food security

混迷する日本林業の現況と21世紀へ向けた取り組み

日本林業は1960年代後半から70年代前半にかけて木材生産量のピークを迎えた後、外材輸入の波に押されて縮小の一途をたどっている。戦後の経済成長と歩調を合わせるように進められた拡大造林政策により、スギ・ヒノキを中心とする人工林資源基盤は充実しており、昨今では年間1億m3近い森林蓄積量の増加をみている。しかし、このうち木材として利用されるのは2, 200万m3程度でしかなく、逆にその4倍もの木材資源を輸入しているのが実態である。木材価格の低迷を受けて国内林業は危機的な状況にあり、林家の林業離れも進んでいる。さらに、農山村における過疎化の進行は、林業労働力の減少という形においても影を落としている。特に東北・中国・四国・九州といった林業の盛んな地方において過疎化に歯止めがかからない現状には、林業の将来を考えるうえで憂慮すべきものがある。そうした中で、森林組合を中心とした若手林業労働者の新規参入・育成事業が一定の成果を見せていることは明るい材料であり、政府も1996年に「林業労働力の確保の促進に関する法律」を制定し、雇用機関への補助や機械化の推進を支援している。国有林野事業においては、1970年代半ばから特別会計制度が赤字を計上するようになり、1998年時点で3兆8, 000億円という累積債務を抱えた。数次にわたる経営改善事業を経た後も状況は悪化する一方で、ついに1998年10月、林野庁は国有林野事業における独立採算制度を改めるとともに、抜本的な組織改革を行った。管理組織の統合と名称変更、人員のさらなる整理、公益的機能を重視した国有林利用区分への変更等、表面的には相当大きな改革であるが、その実効性にかんしては今後の推移を見守る必要があろう。また、政府は1991年に流域管理システムという地域林業の新たな方向性を打ち出した。林地の所有形態を越え、川上から川下までの総ての関連産業を流域単位で包含するという産地づくりを目指すこの考え方は、わが国林業の21世紀に向けた生き残り政策と位置付けることができうる。国有林における施業の民間への委託や森林組合を中心とした労働力確保対策、これまでは別々に策定されていた国有林と民有林の森林計画をリンクさせることなど、流域管理システムの実現に向けた活動は少しずつではあるが進行している。しかし、日本林業にとって最も根本的な問題は自由貿易という国際的な動きの中で比較優位性を持たない部門がどのように存続できるかということである。わが国にとって森林が国土保全や水源涵養などの環境機能を発揮する重要な存在である以上、これを守り育てるためには山村に人が住み林業を含む諸活動を続けることが不可欠であろう。そのためにも、国家政策として林業に対する保護的な貿易政策が必要となってくるのではないだろうか