Forest Guardian Watches over Woods with Decades of Experience

By Akihito Goshima / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

11:11 JST, March 21, 2025

KANRA, Gunma — A member of a regional revitalization team in the town of Kanra, Gunma Prefecture, is committed to stopping the deterioration of local mountain forests, using the expertise and experience he has gained from years of managing and protecting forests at home and abroad.

Kenichi Takano will end his term as a team member this spring. “I would like to continue to be involved in the community and making whatever contribution I can, even if it’s only a small one, to keeping the forests in good shape,” he said.

During a patrol in a mountain forest, Takano, 64, said, “The mountains look fine from a distance, but when you actually go there, you may find that some are not well-maintained.”

Young trees store more carbon dioxide than old ones. So proper management of tree planting and cutting practices is vital to fight against global warming.

However, drops in the price of lumber, driven by foreign imports, have sent the domestic forestry industry into decline. As a result, the conditions of mountain forests have been deteriorating. To address the situation, Takano makes forest management plans and coordinates with owners, forest associations and others connected to the issue. “My role is to implement the plans on-site and share my know-how with others,” he said.

Takano is originally from Yokohama and participated in a mountaineering club at high school. His love of mountains developed into an interest in environmental issues, and he majored in forestry at university. In 1982, he joined the Forestry Agency, where his first post was a regional forestry office in Maebashi (present-day Kanto Regional Forest Office). After that, he was assigned to offices across the country and worked jobs including managing state-owned forests, which account for about 30% of Japan’s total forest area.

He was transferred to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and was involved in reforestation projects in developing countries such as the Philippines, Panama, Laos and Kenya. In the course of the 13 years he spent working overseas, he acquired both English and Spanish skills. During his time working in Kenya, he even climbed to the top of the more than 5,000-meter Mt. Kenya.

In 2018, he was again assigned to Maebashi, this time as the head of the Gunma District Forest Office. He reached the mandatory retirement age in 2020.

After leaving the Forestry Agency, he found a job at an industry organization in Tokyo, where his home was. However, he did not like desk work and began to think, “I want to get back to the place I used to love.” Since there was a connection between Kanra and JICA with the town government accepting JICA trainees, Takano found a forest management job as a member of the town’s regional revitalization team in June 2022. “There are a lot of municipalities that have forest sites, but a limited number of municipal employees, so there are not many employees with relevant expertise,” he said.

Around that time, a forest management system was established to allow municipalities and forestry businesses to manage derelict forests. It is not always known who owns a particular forest, but Takano has steadily kept up his efforts. In one case, he tracked down the heirs to the registered owner of a forest who died nearly 80 years ago.

Takano is also involved in a forest maintenance project that the town is working on in cooperation with the Takasaki University of Commerce. He speaks to students about the importance of forests and supports tree planting activities that are conducted with local elementary school students.

He moved out of his condominium in Tokyo and built a house in Kanra, made of timber produced in Gunma Prefecture, to live in with his wife. While his term as a town revitalization team member will end soon, Takano will continue watching over the forests.