Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui," Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Kenichi Hori) has selected the "Initiative to Realize Development of Future Forests that Nurture Abundant Natural Capital in Japan" as the fourth recipient of a grant from the Mitsui & Co. Co-creation Fund ("the Fund").

Japan has around 10 million hectares of planted forests, but there is a shortage of forestry workers as shown by a 60% decline in the workforce over the past 20 years. As a consequence, while trees covering an area of around 90,000 hectares (about 20,000 times bigger than Tokyo Dome) are harvested each year, replanting covers only 37% of this area, resulting in forest degradation. In addition, there are many forests where logging is not even carried out. Moreover, the value of forests is not limited to timber production. They also provide a wide range of value and benefits to ecosystems, including CO₂ absorption, the conservation of biodiversity and water resources, and the prevention of landslides. Forests are a vital form of natural capital for daily life and economic activities, and the maintenance of their functions is a vital social priority.

Green Foresters does not only harvest trees. Instead, it is entrusted with the management of tree-harvested areas by forest owners or it purchases such areas itself and works with corporate sponsors to replant and nurture those areas. Activities in recent years include the planting of forests on former ski resorts and the organization is also working to develop wetlands. In addition, it trains the specialist personnel needed to restore and foster forests and other types of natural capital. It aims to expand the role of forestry workers from timber producers to natural capital enhancement professionals, and to establish a forestry natural capital industry, with income derived from activities that contribute to the conservation and recovery of natural capital. Through these initiatives, Green Foresters strives to increase forestry workers' incomes while pursuing the realization of a society that maintains and enhances the ecosystem services provided by natural capital.

Through the Fund, Mitsui will provide peripheral support for Green Foresters' efforts to consolidate forests. It will also help Green Foresters to deal with governmental requirements, build collaborative relationships with local companies, and find corporate partners that support their forest development vision. As a corporate forest owner, Mitsui shares Green Foresters' philosophy and will continue to contribute to the transformation of the Japanese forestry industry and the enhancement of natural capital in Japan.

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