Kamigisa name area, Monbetsu city. From this small town overlooking the Sea of Okhotsk, there is a company that takes pride in sustainable forestry and works to create world-standard forests and produce timber. Sato Lumber Industry Co., Ltd. We sat down with the third-generation president, Kyoyu Sato, who was founded in 1987, on the second floor of a historic building that was built as a gathering place for employees and is now used for cultural activities by local residents, for two hours. We interviewed nine third and fourth year Kobayashi seminar students at Hokkaido University's Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics. What did they hear from President Sato as they learned about rural development and regional development?

Shift from core business

 

―――Please tell us about the founding of Sato Lumber.

Mr. Sato: Our company was founded in 1932. I used to run a geta shop. When I was in elementary school and junior high school, I wore geta to school. At that time, charcoal was made in the mountains, and charcoal used hard wood. Soft wood remains even in broad-leaved trees such as linden. It all started when I bought the linden tree and made clogs. After that, while the production of clogs was decreasing, the restaurant industry grew and in 1967, we started making disposable chopsticks. Our company peaked around 1991 to 1991, and in terms of production volume, it accounted for 5% of Japan's consumption. I became the representative in 2000. It was a time when forest resources were declining and products from overseas were coming in due to the strong yen, and our geta and chopsticks were losing competitiveness. We stopped producing geta in 1984 and disposable chopsticks in 1999. At that time, we had 180 staff members for the production of disposable chopsticks, and I really struggled with their progress.

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――What kind of business did you do after that?
Mr. Sato: I wondered if I could do something with thinned wood. When I was manufacturing disposable chopsticks, Daiei, a supermarket, asked me if I could make disposable chopsticks from thinned wood for Earth Day. A buyer came and said, "Mr. Sato, this chopstick made from thinned wood is a direct order from our chairman." It was decided in March, and I received an order to do everything up to the bagging by May, and I managed to do it. Daiei's aim was PR to say, "Daiei is a company that emphasizes the environment." At that time, I realized that the environment might be a trend in the world. Around 1998, I was fortunate enough to do business with Misawa Homes, and in 2000, I started manufacturing laminated lumber. Around 2004, Mr. Masaki Mashimo, who retired from the managing director of Sumitomo Forestry, said that in order to make Japan's forestry industry competitive, we should not "manage" forests and "create" forests. I was told not to. That person is doing SGEC forest certification, and he taught me. The Hokkaido government has a positive attitude, so I visited all the municipalities within the Okhotsk jurisdiction. Among them, I was told, "It costs money, isn't it? Is it profitable?" It may not be profitable for me, but it's an area where so many people involved in forestry work, so I think we need to know what the situation is in the mountains and workplaces that we're involved with. We need to create a mountain where people can work with pride. The towns and villages of Nishimonbetsu(*) responded to my thoughts.

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―――I heard that you are also making use of leftover wood from the forest.
Mr. Sato: Yes, that's right. Most recently, we are planning to start a business that utilizes forest residue to manufacture chips and use them as fuel. I believe that by effectively utilizing not only logs that can be used as building materials, but also wood scraps that cannot be used in the mountains, we will be able to make efforts to further reduce the burden on the environment.

 

Forest certification for agriculture
I would be happy if I could add value

 

―――I feel that forestry has fewer opportunities for consumers to feel more familiar than agriculture and fisheries. If you have any ideas for making consumers feel closer to you, please let me know.
Mr. Sato: I don't think forest certification should be limited to the forestry industry. The ocean is the biggest beneficiary. The second is agriculture. The third is forestry, I think. Among the forest certification examination items, there is "biodiversity, maintenance of soil and water resources". It's not 100% perfect, but I think we have to have that kind of aspiration. The sea benefits from it. So is agriculture. Monbetsu's farming water is river water. We feed the cows with the best water from the mountains 20 kilometers upstream. "The farming water that cows drink is 100% forest-certified mountain water." I really want you to say that. As a representative of the company, I don't think it's a good idea, but I think it's fine if it results in a business, but it doesn't have to be. In addition to making money for myself, I want to maintain soil and water resources in order to survive in the lumber industry. If forest certification adds value to agriculture, I would be just as happy as if my own business was going well.

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―――How do you communicate your feelings within the company?
Mr. Sato: Our staff are not all university graduates. Some were poor and did not receive a proper education. Still, there are many smart people out there. What I regret is that there are few people in the forest today who take pride in what they are doing. I want them to be proud of it. We will raise people who want to show their family how they work. We make full use of cutting-edge technology and machines, and we try to make them aware of their relationship with the environment and society. By continuing to tell the staff about the technology and about the region, I want them to think that what they are doing will lead to the pride of the region. I hope that both the staff and the local community will be pleased with the forest certification.

*Nishimonbetsu area: Area consisting of Monbetsu City, Takinoue Town, Okope Town, Oumu Town, and Nishikobe Village in Monbetsu County

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\Who wrote this article/
Hokkaido University Faculty of Agriculture Department of Agricultural Economics Kobayashi Seminar.
The interviewees were Susumu Lee, Naohide Nakamuta (fourth-year students), Shino Asashima, Haruka Ogi, Mitsuri Kurata, Mizuho Nakamori, Hiromitsu Goto, Atsushi Sato, and Makoto Matsunaga (third-year students).