Faculty Profiles - TAKAHASHI Takuya

Papers - TAKAHASHI Takuya

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Innovativeness of Japanese forest owners and municipalities regarding the valorization of forest ecosystem services: Quantitative evaluation of mutual influences Reviewed

高橋　卓也，大塚　生美，堀　靖人，柴田　晋吾，柘植　隆宏

Forest Policy and Economics 166 2024.6

滋賀県の森林簿における入会林野の取扱いに関する一考察

幸司松下, 卓也高橋, 珠乃林

入会林野研究 2023.3

Exploring evolving spiritual values of forests in Europe and Asia: a transition hypothesis toward re-spiritualizing forests Reviewed International journal

Jeanne-Lazya Roux, ...,Takuya Takahashi, ...

Ecology & Society 24 ( 4 ) art20 2022.11

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：The Resilience Alliance Participation form：Joint(The vice charge)

The development of societies, including spiritual development, is closely connected to forests. The larger interrelations among changing societies, transforming forest landscapes, and evolving spiritual values related to forests have yet to be extensively considered. Addressing this research gap is important to avoid the neglect of spiritual values in forest policy and management. Our exploratory study investigates spiritual values of forests from European and Asian perspectives, assessing 13 countries. Based on expert knowledge from 18 interdisciplinary experts, we first define forest spiritual values (forest spirituality). We then elaborate on the idea that forest spirituality evolves as societies and landscapes change, and propose a transition hypothesis for forest spirituality. We identify indicators and drivers and portray four stages of such a transition using country-specific examples. We find that during a first stage (“nature is powerful”), forest spirituality is omnipresent through the abundance of sacred natural sites and practices of people who often directly depend on forests for their livelihoods. An alternative form of spirituality is observed in the second stage (“taming of nature”). Connected to increasing transformation of forest landscapes and intensifying land-use practices, “modern” religions guide human–nature interrelations. In a third stage (“rational management of nature”), forest spirituality is overshadowed by planned rational forest management transforming forests into commodities for the economy, often focusing on provisioning ecosystem services. During a fourth stage (“reconnecting with nature”), a revival of forest spirituality (re-spiritualization) can be observed due to factors such as urbanization and individualizing spirituality. Our core contribution is in showing the connections among changing forest perceptions, changing land-use governance and practices, and changing forest spirituality. Increasing the understanding of this relationship holds promise for supporting forest policy-making and management in addressing trade-offs between spiritual values and other aspects of forests.

DOI： 10.5751/ES-13509-270420

Other Link： https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol27/iss4/art20/

Cedars of the North Mountains : Historical forest culture and practices in modern day nature policies Reviewed International journal

W D Jong, E Urushima, A Flores, B Jacquet, T Takahashi

International Forestry Review 24 ( 3/S1 ) 380 - 392 2022.9

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Commonwealth Forestry Association Participation form：Joint(The vice charge)

The region north of Kyoto is referred to as Kitayama, which literally translates as North Mountains. The region is the location of Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese cedar or sugi, production in Japan. Cedar logs grown there are used as pillars in the construction of buildings in a typical Japanese minimalist style, but also traditional rooms included in modern houses. Cedar was planted widely in Japan following World War II not only to rebuild the economy but also to grow raw materials to contribute to post-war housing reconstruction. In Kitayama, cedar has been grown for over 600 years and using specific silvicultural techniques by a community that has a unique cultural legacy which developed around cedar cultivation. The Kitayama sugi economic-socio-cultural-ecological complex thrived following World War II but is currently under stress. Demand for its highly priced products is declining. It is recognized in Japan and by the city of Kyoto as a valuable cultural historical heritage and efforts are being made to preserve it as such. The success of these efforts has been mixed so far. This paper reviews the Kitayama sugi economic-socio-cultural-ecological complex in order to understand how historical indigenous forestry practices change over time and how they might be dealt with in advanced societies such as Japan.

DOI： 10.1505/146554822835941896

Effects of forests and forest-related activities on the subjective well-being of residents in a Japanese watershed: An econometric analysis through the capability approach Reviewed International journal

Takuya Takahashi, Satoshi Asano, Yukiko Uchida, Kosuke Takemura, Shintaro Fukushima, Kyohei Matsushita, Noboru Okuda

Forest Policy and Economics 139 102723 - 102723 2022.6

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Elsevier Participation form：Joint(The main charge)

The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of natural capital on overall subjective well-being and forest-related subjective well-being. A questionnaire survey of 1698 urban and rural residents living in a watershed of Japan was conducted in February and March of 2016. Multiple regression and moderation effect analyses are conducted to statistically estimate the respective influences of natural capital, human-made capital, social capital, human capital, and other demographic factors on the above-mentioned two types of subjective well-being. Forest-related activities, human engagement with forests, are supposed to be of great societal and political importance for Japanese society, where past management practices have, at least quantitatively, restored forests from past deforestation. Our statistical analysis tests whether specific engagement with natural capital (forest-related activities) is positively related to subjective well-being. Following the capability approach developed by Amartya Sen, forest-related activities are interpreted as functionings, and the analysis highlights the importance of functionings as links between natural capital and subjective well-being. The results show several forest-related activities have statistically significant effects on overall and forest-related well-being. For respondents living in less forested areas and with less social capital, forest-related activities have stronger effects on their subjective well-being, suggesting that the individual subjective well-being of urban residents and those with less social capital can be enhanced through engagement with forests.

DOI： 10.1016/j.forpol.2022.102723

Innovativeness of Japanese Forest Owners Regarding the Monetization of Forest Ecosystem Services Reviewed International journal

Takahashi, Takuya, Takahiro Tsuge, and Shingo Shibata

Sustainability 14 ( 4 ) 2119 - 2119 2022.2

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Participation form：Joint(The main charge)

The monetization of forest ecosystem services requires actors to innovate and tackle difficulties. We conducted a questionnaire survey with forest owners—important actors in implementing monetization—to investigate their innovativeness in Japan. We measured innovativeness regarding monetization by asking whether the owner was interested in, planning for, or had implemented four types of monetization: (i) multifunctional payments, (ii) habitat payments, (iii) non-wood forest product (NWFP) sales, and (iv) forest service industries. Based on the ordered probit analyses of 312 responses, we find that ownership type, age, holding size, and the purpose of forest ownership are associated with owners’ innovativeness indices. Private and corporate owners, ones in their thirties, forties, or fifties, and with larger holding sizes are more innovative than others. Regional characteristics are not relatively important in terms of innovativeness. However, clear ownership purposes, such as investment and non-wood forest products (NWFP), are positively correlated with the indices. These findings shed new light on the entire process of innovation from conceptualization to implementation, as well as practices in under-researched geographical areas in Asia.

DOI： 10.3390/su14042119

Other Link： https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/4/2119

What factors are related with the levels of forest owner's forest-related subjective well-being (SWB)? Statistical analysis of a questionnaire survey in the upper watershed of Yasu River, Shiga Prefecture Reviewed

Takuya Takahashi, Yukiko Uchida, Hiroyuki Ishibashi, Noboru Okuda

Journal of the Japanese Forest Society 104 ( 1 ) 39 - 43 2022.2

Language：Japanese Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Japanese Forest Society Participation form：Joint(The main charge)

A past study found forest-related subjective well-being (forest SWB) of forest owners were lower than non-owners. It is important to improve owners' forest SWB because improvement could constitute a policy goal and enhance the motivation for management of owned forests. We investigated to identify the possible factors, especially the ones that are related to forest policies, to improve owners' forest SWB through simple moderation effect analyses with the whole sample and multiple regression analyses with forest owners alone from a questionnaire survey with 1,457 responses. We identified possible factors for improving owners' forest SWB such as wood-working activity, relaxing experiences in forests. Forest owners' specific conditions such as engagement as an officer of the property ward, a higher plantation forest ratio, and a higher degree of recognizing the border of owned forests also related to the higher SWB. Revenue or harvest in the past one year might improve owners' forest SWB while past revenue or harvest before one-year decreases owners' SWB.

DOI： 10.4005/jjfs.104.39

Exploring evolving spiritual values of forests in Europe and Asia: a transition hypothesis toward re-spiritualizing forests International journal

2022

Safety climate and risk perception of forestry workers: a case study of motor-manual tree felling in Indonesia Reviewed International journal

Efi Yuliati Yovi, Dalia Abbas, Takuya Takahashi

International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics 2021.11

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Participation form：Joint(The vice charge)

Timber harvesting processes, especially motor-manual felling, are hazardous to forestry workers’ health and safety. The purpose of this study is to examine forestry workers’ mental safety models (at the supervisor and operator levels) using the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire. This study also examines how operators and their families perceive workplace risks (dread and unknown risk factors). The safety climate analysis revealed that supervisors misunderstand management safety priority, competence, empowerment, and justice. Additionally, this study found that operators do not yet prioritize safety. There was a lack of safety communication and operators’ skepticism about the current safety system. These findings highlight the critical importance of implementing safety measures into operators’ work environments. The risk perception analysis revealed that family members had a greater risk aversion to dread risk factors than operators. As a result, we see a possibility for family members to act as safety-net figures, bolstering the operators’ safety values.

DOI： 10.1080/10803548.2021.1986306

Factors Affecting Forest-related Subjective Well-being: A Case Study in the Upper Yasu River Watershed, Shiga Prefecture, Japan Reviewed

Takuya Takahashi, Yukiko Uchida, Hiroyuki Ishibashi, Noboru Okuda

Journal of the Japanese Forest Society 103 ( 2 ) 122 - 133 2021.6

Language：Japanese Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Japanese Forest Society Participation form：Joint(The main charge)

We measured subjective well-being related to forests and examined the results as well as the factors influencing these. We conducted a questionnaire survey in 2018 targeting households in the upper Yasu River watershed, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Using factor analysis, we divided subjective well-being related to forests into four categories: satisfaction, fulfillment, positive affect, and negative affect. We conducted regression analyses using these categories as explained variables and forest-related activities and other variables as explanatory variables. Working in agriculture or forestry has a positive correlation with satisfaction and fulfillment. Forest management activities conducted for respondents' household forests or those done as a volunteer activity have a positive influence on satisfaction and fulfillment, whereas such activities conducted for their community forests have a negative correlation with positive affect. The proportions of forest in residential areas are not related to subjective well-being. Forest ownership lowers all four categories of subjective well-being. This may indicate that the low asset value of forests increases the psychological burden of forest management activities. Currently, forest restoration in Japan has been conducted in terms of quantity; the qualitative improvement of forests now requires deeper involvement from people. Given these conditions, forest-related subjective well-being should be studied in a structured manner, such as by measuring various types of subjective well-being separately, to consider how people should engage with forests and simultaneously improve their subjective well-being.

DOI： 10.4005/jjfs.103.122

New Frontiers in Japanese Forest Policy: Addressing ecosystem disservices in the 21st Century Invited Reviewed International journal

Takuya Takahashi, Wil de Jong, Hiroaki Kakizawa, Mari Kawase, Koji Matsushita, Noriko Sato, Atsushi Takayanagi

Ambio 50 2272 - 2285 2021.6

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Participation form：Joint(The main charge)

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.

DOI： 10.1007/s13280-021-01566-2

Models Explaining the Levels of Forest Environmental Taxes and Other PES Schemes in Japan Invited Reviewed International journal

Takuya Takahashi, Katsuya Tanaka

Forests 12 ( 6 ) 685 2021.5

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Participation form：Joint(The main charge)

Between 2003 and April 2016, 37 of 47 prefectures (i.e., sub-national local governmental units) introduced forest environmental taxes—local payment for environmental services (PES) schemes. These introductions are unique historical natural experiments, in which local governments made their own political decisions considering multiple factors. This study empirically evaluates models that explain normalized expenditures from forest environmental taxes as well as other PES schemes (subsidies for enhancing forests’ and mountain villages’ multifunction, and green donation) and traditional forestry budgets for Japan’s 47 prefectures based on the median voter model. Results demonstrate that the median voter model can particularly explain forest environmental taxes and forestry budgets. Specifically, the past incidence of droughts and landslides is positively correlated with the levels of forest environmental taxes. The higher the number of municipalities in a prefecture, the lower the amount of forest environmental tax spent on forests. Moreover, the number of forest volunteering groups, possibly an indicator of social capital in the forest sectors, had strong positive correlations with the levels of forest environmental taxes and forestry budgets. Other PES schemes and forestry budgets had unique patterns of correlations with the examined factors.

DOI： 10.3390/f12060685

Other Link： https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/6/685

Subjective well-being as a potential policy indicator in the context of urbanization and forest restoration Reviewed International journal

Takahashi, T., Y. Uchida, H. Ishibashi, N. Okuda

Sustainability 13 ( 6 ) 3211 2021.3

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Participation form：Joint(The main charge)

The enhancement of human well-being is one of the ultimate goals of resource management;
however, it is not explicitly considered by forest policy indicators. Our previous studies examined
how Japanese citizens in the Yasu River watershed of the Shiga Prefecture perceived subjective
well-being related to forests (forest SWB).We found a negative correlation between forest SWB and
forest ownership, suggesting dissatisfaction with the low profitability of forest ownership. Based on
this result, in this paper, we argue that forest SWB can be an important indicator for policymaking
in the context of urbanization and forest restoration and can complement existing forest indicators
focusing mainly on physical and objective properties. First, we propose that a direct measurement of
well-being (e.g., forest SWB) is preferable over an indirect measurement (e.g., GDP), for policymaking
processes related to forests. Second, forest SWB can reflect the quality of our interactions with forests,
which is important in urbanized societies which tend to have reduced experiences with nature. Third,
forest SWB could identify inequalities between the users of forest ecosystem services and forest
managers. Overall, forest SWB can be a holistic indicator to capture a variety of perspectives held by
citizens.

DOI： 10.3390/su13063211

A statistical analysis on the recent changes in forestry activities of forest producers' cooperatives

Matsushita Koji, Takahashi Takuya, Senda Tetsuji, Yamaguchi Kozo, Yoshida Yoshio

The Japanese Forest Society Congress 132 18 - 18 2021

Community actions against anticommons of forests in contemporary Japan: Case studies of former common forests Reviewed International journal

Takuya Takahashi, Koji Matsushita, Toshiaki Nishimura

Journal of Forest Research 2020.10

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Taylor & Francis Participation form：Joint(The main charge)

Over the past few decades, many Japanese forest owners and communities have suffered from the outcomes of anticommons (parcelization) phenomenon. Since the Edo Era (17th through 19th centuries), many Japanese commons forests have been subdivided and placed under private ownership. Individual owners of the subdivided small forests (carved out from former commons forests) have lost interest in forestry, resulting in unclear borders. Many owners have relocated outside the villages (absent owners) and/or have passed the land down through generations, resulting in unknown ownership. There are several ways to ameliorate the anticommons phenomenon in Japan, as illustrated by these examples, which we examined employing case study and comparative study approaches. 1) Despite the expense, a residents’ association successfully re-appropriated co-ownership land by “technically” suing the current respective co-owners. 2) Some residents’ associations collectively manage subdivided forests as one unit to reduce the damage caused by animals such as wild boars or deer. However, the units are still legally separate and owned by individuals. 3) A land owners’ association stipulated that a vacating resident owner must sell her forest to the remaining residents. These three cases show how motivations, other than profits, could help address the anticommons phenomenon. These motivations include the intent to keep the community’s holding intact in the event of consolidation at the municipality level, to protect the land against pest animals, and to keep the community’s drinking water pure.

DOI： 10.1080/13416979.2020.1834715

国際コモンズ学会世界大会2019（ペルー・リマ、テーマ「コモンズを守る」）参加報告

Takuya Takahashi

Journal of Forest Commons 2020

Impacts of 150 Years of Modernization Policies on the Management of Common Forests in Japan: A Statistical Analysis of Micro Census Data Reviewed International journal

Takahashi, T., Matsushita, K., Yoshida, Y., & Senda, T.

International Journal of the Commons 13 ( 2 ) 1021 - 1034 2019.10

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Ubiquity Press Participation form：Joint(The main charge)

After World War II, Japan's policy makers believed that common forests were underutilized because of their legal status and organization method under customary iriai-type ownership and that modern ownership in the form of group ownership, such as forest producers' cooperatives, or as individual, separate ownership, would improve the situation. Thus, the Common Forests Modernization Act of 1966 was enacted, following successive modernization policies since the Meiji Restoration in 1868. We evaluated the impacts of the past modernization policies on the management of common forests by statistically comparing the performance of modernized and non-modernized 19,690 common forests based on the World Census of Agriculture and Forestry 2000. The performance measures for comparison included planting, weeding, thinning, and harvesting activities. We found less modernized, customary holdings are more active in tending activities such as weeding and thinning, while modernized holdings may have an advantage in harvesting and timber sales.

DOI： 10.5334/ijc.936

Other Link： https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/10.5334/ijc.936/

A Statistical Analysis of Forest Producers' Cooperatives Using Microdata from the 2005 and 2010 World Censuses of Agriculture and Forestry: Forest Practices and Forest Product Sales Classified by Forest Holding Area Reviewed

Koji Matsushita, Takuya Takahashi, Tetsushi Senda

Journal of Forest Commons 39 60 - 70 2019.3

A Statistical Analysis of Forest Producers' Cooperatives using Microdata from the 2005 and 2010 World Censuses of Agriculture and Forestry:Forest Practices and Forest Product Sales Classified by Forest Holding Area

Matsushita Koji, Takahashi Takuya, Yoshida Yoshio, Senda Tetsuji

Journal of Forest Commons 39 60 - 70 2019.3

生態系サービス(自然の恵み)の経済評価

Takuya Takahashi

Environmental information science 48 14-19 2019

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Papers - TAKAHASHI Takuya