Environment Battling kafunsho: Japan to tackle hay fever

Last Wednesday, the Japanese government presented a comprehensive package of measures to reduce the clouds of cedar pollen tormenting hay fever sufferers, up to 40% of the population, every spring. These measures include designating areas where Japanese cedars will be cut down and replanted with low-pollen tree varieties. The program will be rolled out this fiscal year, focusing on artificial plantations near urban areas.

The government hammered out a hay fever policy in May with three key elements: limiting the pollen produced, predicting where it travels once it is airborne and improving treatment of those affected by allergies. Pledging to halve pollen emissions in 30 years, the government plans to pare back artificial Japanese cedar plantations by about 20% in 10 years. [...] The centrepiece of the package includes logging of Japanese cedars and replanting stands with other species. Areas where many allergy patients live are expected to receive priority.

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Authorities also aim to use supercomputers and artificial intelligence to predict the amount of pollen scattered from forests.

Paywall alert:

In May, under Kishida's initiative, the minister-level meeting decided to halve the nation's pollen count in 30 years by broadening the logging of artificially planted cedar trees from 50,000 hectares per year to 70,000 hectares. A significant boost to the nation's forestry industry is needed to achieve such an ambitious goal. The sector has constantly declined for decades, with workers numbering a mere 44,000 in 2020 — less than a third of the level in 1980. As a result, cedar-producing trees have not been utilized as timber and have been left to release allergens yearly during the spring pollen season.

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But still cedar monoculture. How disappointing: a missed opportunity to increase biodiversity and local tourism - people travel to see autumn colours but not to see forests of uniformly planted cedar.

Japan is taking action to combat hay fever, which affects approximately 40 per cent of its population. The country plans to accelerate the replacement of cedar forests with low-pollen-producing trees. During Japan's post-World War II economic boom, extensive cedar tree planting occurred to meet housing needs. However, as these forests grew, pollen dispersion increased, leading to widespread hay fever symptoms such as runny noses, sneezing, and itchy eyes, particularly during springtime. Japan aims to reduce planted cedar tree areas by about 20 per cent by the fiscal year 2033 to alleviate this issue.

It is unclear what those cedar trees will be replaced with, as was reported: "low-pollen cedar varieties and other trees." So perhaps no monoculture replacement, but also no plans of rewilding.

The government will accelerate the felling of cedar forests and replace them with seedlings or other tree species that release less pollen, according to a white paper approved Tuesday by the Cabinet. To achieve the goal, securing a labor force for logging work, stirring demand for cedar lumber and increasing the production of low-pollen seedlings will be needed, the white paper said. Cedar pollen allergies were estimated to have affected 39 per cent of the population in Japan in 2019, up sharply from 16 per cent in 1998, according to a nationwide survey of ear, nose and throat doctors and their families.

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