Japan’s shrinking softwood import market

Japan’s predominantly wood-based housing sector has historically been a strong market for the world’s softwood lumber exporters, but with an aging population, demand is declining. However, the government is supporting green building with pro-wood policies, and tall timber buildings are on the rise, potentially opening up new opportunities. In the last six years, Japan’s imports of softwood lumber by volume have fallen by 48%–an average decline of 8% per year with just a 1% uptick between 2021 and 2022. Lumber imports in 2023 dropped by almost 33% compared with 2022 to 3.2 ...