New frontiers in Japanese Forest Policy: Addressing ecosystem disservices in the 21st century

Forests are a potential solution to numerous global environmental issues, and their restoration is widely pursued. Forty percent of Japan’s forests are planted forests. This has caused the common occurrence of forest ecosystem disservices in the country, like—wildlife damage, pollinosis, and driftwood damage. Forest policy processes in Japan are characterized by incrementalism, central mobilization, and hegemony of career civil servants. Responses to forest ecosystem disservices have changed the central mobilization policy pattern. Punctuated equilibrium theory can be applied to several policy processes in Japan, but it provides only limited explanation for policy responses to forest ecosystem disservices. The responses are influenced by national governance and public administration traditions and cultures. It is relevant to expand research on policy responses to forest ecosystem disservices, recognizing that ideal responses may require unusual approaches not within traditional policy making or outside of established policy cultures.