In Japan, forest trusts are always mentioned as a faraway El Dorado. It is also similar in the forest and forestry revitalization plan. Of course, as is well known, Article 9 of the Forest Owners' Cooperative Act outlines the "acceptance of trusts for the purpose of the management of forests owned by cooperative members" as one type of cooperative activities, and there are only a few examples. In addition, there are factors, such as the 2006 revision of the Trust Law and an increase in the level of commitment to forest issues of finance-related companies, and recently there has been increased talk about forest trusts. However, little research has been done on forest trusts, and an accurate picture of the significance of forest management and conservation still remains unclear. This study serves as a preliminary study based on the past history and debates surrounding forest trusts as well as on present cases. As a result, we found out 1) concept of the commercial trust in pre-WWII, 2) political tool for the extensions of profit sharing forest and forest recreation, 3) political tool for intensive management, 4) consignment of the public forest.
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