Most statistics on forests and forestry date from the 1950's or 1960's, and currently contain several weak points. In particular, there are very serious discrepancies between the statistical data used by the forest planning system, the most important forest policy program, and the actual situation. In this paper, basic issues related to the statistics on private forests in Japan are highlighted. (1) Recently, several new trends have been developing in private forest management methods, for example, multi-storied forests and thinning at a high age. However, the statistics on forests and forestry have not been renewed despite these new management practices. (2) Part of the forest planning system has recently become ineffective. The forest management plan is a basic program in forestry policy. However, in some cases, forest owners are not even aware of the existence of a plan with regard to their own forests. (3) There are many problems regarding the forest resource database. The database is not updated correctly. In addition, the yield tables are not effective in some areas. (4) The cutting reporting system is an important procedure provided in the current forest law. Recently, this system has not worked well. (5) Forest owners and forest workers are becoming older and the numbers have been decreasing. This issue further promotes the first four problems. (6) The statistical system on the utilization of forest resources, for example, log production statistics and inforest tourism statistics, are not sufficiently developed.
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