National forest - kokuyuurin

Japanese: 国有林 - こくゆうりん

A general term for forests owned by the government. Most of them come under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, where various projects are carried out for the purposes of forestry management, land conservation, and maintaining forest ecosystems.

As of 2011, the area of national forests under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Agency was approximately 7.58 million hectares, accounting for approximately 20% of the country's land area and approximately 30% of its forest area. Although there are regional differences, with a high ratio of national forests in Hokkaido, Tohoku, northern Kanto, southern Kyushu, etc., most national forests are distributed mainly in remote mountainous regions and water source areas, and the primeval natural forests of Yakushima, Shirakami Mountains, and Shiretoko, which are registered as World Heritage Sites, are also national forests. Approximately 50% of the area of protected forests and approximately 60% of national parks are national forests.

Furthermore, the national forests under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Agency are the largest forestry enterprise in Japan, producing approximately 2.05 million cubic meters of timber in fiscal 2010, with approximately 7,000 hectares of planted forests and approximately 140,000 hectares of thinned forests required for maintenance. The management and operation of national forests is the responsibility of the Forestry Agency's National Forest Department, seven forest management bureaus and 98 forest management offices located in the regions.

As of 2011, the area of national forests under the jurisdiction of ministries and agencies other than the Forestry Agency was approximately 60,000 hectares.

[Shigeru Iida and Noriko Sato]

History

Today's national forests are based on forests owned by feudal domains and forests and wilderness areas that were nationalized under the land tax reform and the classification of land into public and private ownership. Under the classification, if local communities could not prove past forest use, then the land was not recognized as privately owned. In addition, the public had a low sense of ownership, and in some areas residents took measures to avoid taxes, leading to the nationalization of a large number of common mountains. However, as national management was strengthened, local residents' dissatisfaction and resistance increased. In particular, when the Prussian forestry system was introduced in 1886 (Meiji 19), a large and small forest district office system was established, and commercial management of national forests was launched, this developed into a nationwide movement to return public land. In 1899, the government enacted the Law for the Return of National Land, Forests, and Wilderness, and finally approved about 20% of the request for the return of 2.05 million hectares, thereby finalizing the cadastral record of national forests. In the same year, the National Forest Law was enacted, and full-scale management of national forests began. Before World War II, national forests in Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in Hokkaido the Ministry of the Interior, and in Karafuto, Korea, and Taiwan the Ministry of Colonization in charge of forestry. The management of national forests was characterized by the fact that local residents who used the common forests were almost obligated to be employed at low wages.

In 1947 (Showa 22) after the Second World War, Hokkaido National Forests, Imperial Forests (established in 1888 when high-quality national forests were made imperial property; approximately 1.32 million hectares), and national forests in prefectures and prefectures were unified to form the current national forests.

In the 1960s, in order to meet the increasing demand for timber, large-scale logging and development of subalpine areas were promoted, making forest regeneration difficult and causing industrial accidents (vibration illness caused by chainsaws). These were criticized by society, and in 1973, management was carried out with attention to land conservation and nature conservation, but as resources were depleted, trade liberalization, the shift to a floating exchange rate system, and the strong yen caused a long-term decline in timber prices, and since 1975, the forestry management has been constantly in the red. In the 1980s and 1990s, in order to escape from this deficit, the forestry management withdrew from unprofitable forest management, promoted the reorganization and elimination of organizations, and drastically reduced the number of employees. Then, in 1998, the accumulated debt of 2.8 trillion yen was charged to the general account together with the JNR debt, and a radical reform was carried out, including major changes to the structure and management objectives of the National Forest Management Special Account. Specifically, the government aimed to manage forests with an emphasis on public functions, such as extending the cutting period of artificial forests, promoting multi-story forests, and broadleaf forests, while transferring funds from the general account. After the fundamental reform, a policy was also started to divide forests into three categories for management. As of 2011, the three functional categories and their areas are as follows:

(1) Soil and Water Conservation Forests: Forests that are intended to ensure a safe and comfortable life for the people through land conservation and water source replenishment, covering 5.15 million hectares (68%).

(2) Forests where people and forests coexist: 2.16 million hectares (28%) of forests are designated for the purpose of preserving the precious natural environment and providing a place for people to interact with forests.

(3) Resource-cycling forests: 27 cts (4%) of forests that efficiently produce timber and other forest products while taking into consideration the fulfillment of public functions.

Thus, after this fundamental reform, the emphasis in national forest management shifted from timber production to environmental considerations and the fulfillment of public functions. At the same time, the 14 forest management bureaus were consolidated into seven forest management bureaus, and the 229 forest management offices into 98 forest management offices. The number of employees in the national forest business was reduced from 15,000 in 1997 to 6,000 as of 2010.

However, in the second half of the 2000s, as the international supply and demand for timber became tight, the role of national forests in timber production came to be emphasized, with the Forest Management Bureau and sawmills and plywood factories entering into agreements on prices and quantities, and a system sales method to ensure a stable supply of timber being introduced. In particular, when the Democratic Party took over power in 2009, they positioned the revitalization of forests and forestry as one of their new growth strategies, which made it necessary to review the management and operation policy of national forests. The Forestry Policy Council, which submits basic policies to the government, established a National Forest Subcommittee in 2011 and has been intensively discussing how national forests should be managed and operated. As a result, in December of that year, the Forestry Policy Council submitted a report to the government stating that while national forests should be managed and operated with an emphasis on the public interest, in order to contribute to the revitalization of forests and forestry, they should also develop and disseminate low-cost forestry technology, develop human resources and foster private sector businesses, build a stable timber supply system, and set up joint operation complexes integrated with private forests, and that the special account for national forests should be abolished and businesses and organizations should be included in the general account. Subsequently, on June 21, 2012, the House of Representatives passed and enacted the Act to partially amend the Act on the Management and Operation of National Forests, etc., in order to maintain and enhance the public functions of national forests (effective April 1, 2013), and it was decided that the special account for national forests, which had been established with the unification of forestry policy in 1947 (Showa 22), would be abolished at the end of that fiscal year, ushering in a new era of national forests.

[Shigeru Iida and Noriko Sato]

"A History of National Forest Management, by Akiyama Tomohide (1960, Japan Forestry Research Council)" ▽ "The Past, Present and Future of National Forests, by Iida Shigeru (1992, Tsukuba Shobo)" ▽ "What to Do with National Forests, by Kasahara Yoshito, Shioya Hiroyasu and Koda Tetsuya (2008, Liberta Publishing)" ▽ "Forestry Agency, 'Forest and Forestry White Paper', various years' editions (Agriculture and Forestry Statistics Association)" ▽ "'Status of Implementation of Basic Plans for the Administration and Management of National Forests', various years' editions (Forestry Agency)"

[Reference item] | National Forest Management Office | Forestry Agency | National Forestry Agency

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

国が所有する森林の総称。その主要部分は農林水産省林野庁の所管に属し、林業経営、国土保全、森林生態系の維持などを目的として各種の事業が行われている。

　2011年（平成23）の時点で林野庁所管国有林面積は約758万ヘクタールであり、国土面積の約2割、森林面積の約3割を占めている。北海道や東北、北関東、南九州等で国有林の比率が高いなど地域性を有するものの、国有林の多くは奥地脊梁(せきりょう)山地や水源地域を中心に分布し、世界自然遺産に登録された屋久島(やくしま)、白神(しらかみ)山地、知床(しれとこ)の原生的な天然生林も国有林である。保安林面積の約5割、国立公園の約6割が国有林である。

　また、林野庁所管国有林は、2010年度において、約205万立方メートルの木材を生産するとともに、植林約7000ヘクタール、手入れとして必要な間伐約14万ヘクタールなど、日本最大の林業事業体である。国有林の管理運営は、林野庁国有林野部と地方に配置された7の森林管理局と98の森林管理署が担当している。

　なお、林野庁以外の省庁が所管する国有林面積は2011年段階において約6万ヘクタールである。

［飯田　繁・佐藤宣子］

沿革

今日の国有林は、幕藩有林と地租改正、土地官民有区分によって国有化された森林・原野を基礎にしている。官民有区分では、地元集落が過去の林野利用が証明できない場合には民有とは認められなかった。また国民の所有権意識が低く、地域によっては住民側が租税回避策をとったため、入会(いりあい)山が大量に国有化された。しかし、国の管理が強化されるにつれ、地元住民の不満や抵抗が増大した。とくに1886年（明治19）にプロシアの林業制度を導入して大小林区署制が敷かれ、国有林の事業的経営が発足すると、全国的規模の官有地下げ戻し運動に発展した。国は、1899年に国有土地森林原野下戻(さげもどし)法を制定し、205万ヘクタールの下げ戻し要求のうち約2割を最終的に認めることによって国有林の地籍を確定した。そして同年国有林野法を制定し、本格的な国有林経営を開始した。第二次世界大戦前の国有林は、本州、四国、九州は農林省、北海道は内務省、樺太(からふと)、朝鮮、台湾は拓務省の林業担当部署が所管した。その経営は、共用林野等を利用する地元住民をなかば義務的に安い賃金で雇用し、展開したところに特徴があった。

　第二次世界大戦後の1947年（昭和22）、北海道国有林、御料林（1888年、優良な国有林を皇室財産とすることにより成立。約132万ヘクタール）、都府県所在国有林が統一され、現在の国有林が形成された。

　1960年代には、増大する木材需要に対処するため、大面積にわたる伐採や亜高山地帯の開発が進められ、森林の再生を困難にするとともに労働災害（チェーンソーによる振動病）を発生させた。これらは社会的な批判を受け、1973年から国土保全や自然保護などに留意した経営が行われたが、資源が枯渇するとともに貿易の自由化、変動相場制への移行、円高によって木材価格が長期に下落し、1975年以降は恒常的な赤字を計上するようになった。1980～1990年代は、この赤字体質から脱出するために不採算な森林経営からの撤退、組織の統廃合、職員の大幅削減を推進した。そして、1998年に2兆8000億円の累積債務を国鉄債務と抱き合わせで一般会計の負担とし、また、国有林野事業特別会計の仕組みや経営目的を大幅に変更するという抜本的な改革が行われた。具体的には一般会計から資金を繰り入れつつ、人工林の長伐期化や複層林化、広葉樹林化など、公益的機能に重点をおいた森林管理が目ざされた。また、抜本改革後、森林を三つに区分して管理するという施策が開始された。2011年（平成23）の時点で三つの機能区分とその面積は下記のとおりである。

(1)水土保全林　国土保全や水源の涵養(かんよう)を通じて安全で快適な国民生活を確保することを重視する森林、515万ヘクタール（68％）。

(2)森林と人との共生林　貴重な自然環境の保全や国民と森林とのふれあいの場を提供することを重視する森林、216万ヘクタール（28％）。

(3)資源の循環利用林　公益的機能の発揮に配慮しつつ、効率的に木材等の林産物の生産を行う森林、27クタール（4％）。

　このように、抜本改革後、国有林管理は木材生産から環境重視、公益的機能の発揮に重点がおかれると同時に、14の営林局は7の森林管理局へ、229の営林署は98の森林管理署へと組織の統廃合がなされ、国有林野事業の職員数は1997年（平成9）の1万5000人から2010年（平成22）時点の6000人まで縮小された。

　しかし、2000年代後半になって、国際的な木材需給が逼迫(ひっぱく)するなかで、森林管理局と製材工場や合板工場が価格や量について協定を結び、安定的に木材供給を行うシステム販売方式が導入されるなど、国有林の木材生産の役割が重視されるようになった。とくに、2009年の民主党への政権交代は、森林・林業の再生を新成長戦略の一つに位置づけたため、国有林の管理運営方針を見直すことが必要となった。政府に基本政策を答申する林政審議会は2011年に、国有林部会を設置し、国有林の管理経営のあり方を集中的に論議した。その結果、同年12月、国有林は公益重視の管理運営を推進すると同時に、森林・林業の再生への貢献のために、低コスト林業技術の開発普及、民間事業体の人材育成や事業体の育成、木材の安定供給体制の構築、民有林と一体とした共同施業団地の設定等が求められること、さらに国有林野特別会計を廃止して、事業・組織の一般会計化すべきとの答申が林政審議会から政府に提出された。その後、2012年6月21日に衆議院本会議で「国有林野の有する公益的機能の維持増進を図るための国有林野の管理運営に関する法律等の一部を改正する等の法律」が可決・成立し（2013年4月1日施行）、1947年（昭和22）の林政統一とともに発足した国有林野事業特別会計は同年度限りで廃止することが決定し、新たな国有林時代を迎えることとなった。

［飯田　繁・佐藤宣子］

『秋山智英著『国有林経営史論』（1960・日本林業調査会）』▽『飯田繁著『国有林の過去・現在・未来』（1992・筑波書房）』▽『笠原義人・塩谷弘康・香田徹也著『どうする国有林』（2008・リベルタ出版）』▽『林野庁編『森林・林業白書』各年版（農林統計協会）』▽『『国有林野の管理経営に関する基本計画の実施状況』各年版（林野庁）』

[参照項目] | 国有林野事業特別会計 | 森林 | 森林管理署 | 林野庁

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

<<: Obsidian - kokuyouseki (English spelling) obsidian

>>: National Railways