The Department of Fisheries and Forestry, Hokkaido Government, has summarized the status of forest acquisition by overseas corporations and individuals in Hokkaido. Forest acquisition by foreign capital in Hokkaido from January to December 2020 involved a total area of 53 ha and 12 cases. This was a decrease of 146 ㏊ and 23 cases compared with 2010. In Niseko, an international resort area, and its surroundings, forest acquisition involved an area of 22㏊and nine cases.

The Hokkaido Government tabulates the status of forest acquisition by foreign capital in Hokkaido and publishes it every year. In 2020, the total area of forests acquired by corporations and individuals with an overseas residential address involved 20 ㏊and eight cases (all within the Shiribeshi Subprefecture) while that acquired by domestic foreign-affiliated companies involved 33㏊ and four cases.

Looking at the number of cases of acquisition by country, Singapore, the British Virgin Islands, and Canada ranked the highest with three cases each. Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand had one case each. The purposes of use included asset holding, housing/villa construction, and mineral resource surveying.

By municipality, Niseko, an internationally well-known resort area, and its surroundings involved the most cases. In Shiribeshi Subprefecture, acquisition involved an area of 22 ha and nine cases. However, the number of cases of acquisition decreased by 17 (61 ha) from the previous year.

The responsible person of the Forest Planning Division analyzes the situation, pointing out that “people from overseas could not come to Hokkaido due to entry restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a decrease in the number of cases of forest acquisition.

With regards to forest acquisition by municipality in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, there were three cases in Niseko Town, involving a total area of 3.7 ha. Within the subprefecture, there were also cases of forest acquisition in Rankoshi Town, Makkari Village, Rusutsu Village, Kimobetsu Town, and Akaigawa Village. The cumulative total forest acquisition as of the end of December 2020 involved an area of 3,085 ha and 233 cases.

(Excerpt from an article on June 18, 2021)