16 January 2018 – Mr. Masayuki Iwasa, director of Overseas Timber Research Department together with Mr.Atsuo Ida Senior Researcher from Japan Wood-Products Information & Research Center visited with Mr. Banjong  Wongsrisoontorn, director of Thai – EU FLEGT Secretariat Office (TEFSO). This visiting was aimed to consult on the guideline of the opening market and importing Hinoki and Sugi timber to Thailand.

In addition, they also discussed PEFC and FSC. Japan adopt both of two systems due to the reliability of the systems but PEFC is more popular in Japan. Moreover, the issue of the importing timber was also discussed that NGOs in Japan strictly investigate the source and legality of timber nowadays. Thus, the importing timber in Japan requires intensive traceability.