In the United States, where forest investment is active, the carbon absorption and sequestration functions of forests have been attracting attention since the 2015 Paris Agreement. As a result, investment in forest management is growing more active, with the aim of achieving a decarbonized society and harmonizing forest business. Looking to Japan, we believe that the unclear and ambiguous standards for forest asset value and the slow development of forest investment infrastructure are making it difficult to secure and expand forest investment in Japanese forests. In the mid-2000s, the view held by major Japanese financial institutions regarding the commercialization of forest trusts was that they did not meet safety standards. The reasons for this were:(1) concerns about securing cash flow from forestry,(2) a lack of experts and institutions that could cooperate, and (3) instability of the physical conditions of the properties and the rights relationships. In addition, we have focused on the following reasons for the lack of significant progress in forest investment in Japan:(1) the forestry industry’s dependence on subsidies, which prevents improvements in profitability;(2) the mismatch between the time axis of the investment period and the time axis of the production period; and (3) the absence of third-party evaluators who can estimate the sale value of forests, including their future value. In this paper, we will focus on real estate auction appraisers, who are third-party evaluators, and, despite the limitations of auctions, we will clarify the issues surrounding the value of forest assets in Japan based on the results of auctioned real estate.

The global trend toward decarbonization is beginning to require Japanese manufacturers in Thailand to decarbonize their operations. Therefore, I analyzed the results of an existing questionnaire survey by a third-party organization and conducted interviews with 23 Japanese manufacturers to find out how these manufacturers are responding to decarbonization. In analyzing the results of the questionnaire survey, I sought to gain a general understanding of the current status of decarbonization initiatives by Japanese manufacturers in Thailand, specific details of these initiatives, motivations, and challenges. And, in the interview survey, I sought to gain a more detailed understanding of the situation, including these matters.

From these surveys, I found that Japanese manufacturers in Thailand are generally lagging behind in their decarbonization efforts, with many taking a passive stance, and that acceleration of decarbonization is needed. In addition, since the Japanese parent companies have the greatest influence on the promotion of decarbonization, the companies should pay more attention to the promotion of decarbonization by its Thai subsidiaries. Specifically, Japanese parent companies should actively support and cooperate in promoting the introduction of renewable energy, investment in energy-saving equipment, and calculation of greenhouse gas emissions by Thai subsidiaries.

On the other hand, Japanese executives at Thai subsidiaries of small- and medium-sized intermediate goods manufacturers have a large influence in some cases. Japanese manufactures should work on decarbonization not only from a short-term management perspective, but also from a mediumto long-term perspective. To this end, Japanese manufacturers in Thailand need to decarbonize from a broad perspective with an eye on the next generation. In addition, there is an urgent need to create an environment that encourages bold and self-sustaining decarbonization efforts, as well as cooperation

among and between the government and companies toward decarbonization.