This course provides an overview of Japan’s forestry industry and related Japanese industries pertaining to lumber and wood products.
Forest Science and Engineering covers forests/timberland, forestry, lumber production and wooden architecture. The spring quarter of this course focuses on forests/timberland and forestry operations situated upstream, and the fall quarter focuses on lumber production and wooden architecture located downstream. This course teaches specialized knowledge and examines the current overall situation together with the technologies and social systems that are associated with the existing issues and problems. Students are expected to gain specialized knowledge, deepen their understanding of the subject matter, and develop their own views and opinions.
The forests/timberland which account for 67% of Japan’s total land and all the related industries are closely tied to our daily life. The currently observed issues associated with forests/timberland, lumber production and wooden architecture are serving as a mirror that clearly reflects those aspects that Japan’s technology development and social system designing have lost sight of.
In the future, the students taking this course may not choose a profession that requires the knowledge covered in this course, but it is intended to equip them with expansive and deep thinking needed for each crucial decision making.