An analysis of the response rates of forest-producer cooperatives to the annual statistical survey of forest cooperatives

Abstract

The Forestry Agency of Japan conducts an annual survey of forest cooperatives, including forest-producer cooperatives (FPCs; seisan shinrin kumiai). However, the response rate of FPCs has declined over time, dropping to 77.6% in the fiscal-2022 survey. Despite this decline and a concomitant decline in the overall number of FPCs, due to dissolution, the Forestry Agency publishes cumulative values only for each survey item, classified by prefecture. We assessed the rates of survey submission by FPCs over the 2008–2017 fiscal years to determine challenges in using the survey results as published and propose solutions that might improve the survey’s utility. Of FPCs that responded to the survey at least once between 2008 and 2017, 50.5% did so every year. Percentages varied by prefecture, with approximately 30% of prefectures presenting an FPC response rate < 40%. Attempts to compare published FPC survey values through time should incorporate microdata analyses to account for these inconsistencies.