October Is Wood Use Promotion Month
Overview
October’s Wood Use Promotion Month uses “Wood Change” as its slogan and features public awareness activities and related events to promote understanding of the value of using wood. October 8 is Wood Use Promotion Day. Relevant ministries work intensively in partnership with local governments, academia, and industry. The article introduces the purpose of the system, the value of wood use, and events scheduled for October through December 2026.
Key points
- October is designated Wood Use Promotion Month and October 8 Wood Use Promotion Day, with public awareness activities under the slogan “Wood Change.”
- Relevant ministries will work intensively with local governments, academia, and industry to deepen interest in and understanding of wood use.
- The main meeting of the council, award-winning works announcements, a competition awards ceremony, and a symposium are scheduled for October 2026.
Overview
Wood Use Promotion Day and Wood Use Promotion Month were established under the Act on Promotion of Use of Wood in Buildings, etc., to Contribute to the Realization of a Decarbonized Society, commonly known as the Urban Wood Construction Promotion Act, which took effect in October 2021. The kanji characters for “ten” and “eight” combine to form the character for “wood,” which is why October 8 and October were designated as the day and month, respectively.
The Wood Use Promotion Headquarters, established under the Urban Wood Construction Promotion Act, promotes the national “Wood Use Movement,” bringing industry, academia, and government together. This year, too, October is the intensive campaign period to encourage interest in and understanding of the benefits of wood and the value of using it.
Impact
The article explains that using wood from forests in daily life and buildings helps realize forests’ multiple functions, including preventing global warming and conserving national land, and revitalizes local economies by promoting forestry and the wood industry.
Details
Forests cover approximately two-thirds of Japan’s land area. The Wood Use Promotion Headquarters calls on people to incorporate wood into everyday life and buildings in their towns.
“Wood Change” refers to actions that help transform society into a sustainable one through the use of wood, such as replacing everyday items with wooden ones, bringing wood into daily life, and constructing or finishing buildings with wood.
Launched by the Forestry Agency in September 2021, the Council for Promoting Wood Use in Private Buildings, etc. is a public-private council with participants from across the supply chain. It works to create an environment that makes wood easier to use by examining challenges and solutions for wood use in private buildings and other structures, and sharing pioneering efforts. Following its meeting, it plans to announce members’ initiatives and events taking place during the month.
Related events include the main meeting of the Wood Change Council (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries); the announcement of the Wood Design Award 2026 winning works; the Wood Use Promotion Competition awards ceremony (Mokuzai Kaikan, Koto City, Tokyo); the Wood Use Symposium hosted by the Forestry Agency (Otemachi Mitsui Conference); and WOOD DESIGN EXPERIENCE @ Yokohama (Queen’s Square Yokohama). The award’s grand prize is scheduled to be announced on November 10, with the awards ceremony on December 2. Information about related events around the country is scheduled to be updated regularly on the Wood Use Promotion Headquarters website.