Motegi Town Signs 'Natural Capital Creation Partnership Agreement' with Tochigi Association for Creating 100-Year Forests

Motegi Town, Tochigi Prefecture (Mayor: Tatsuya Furuguchi) and the general incorporated association 'Tochigi Association for Creating 100-Year Forests' (Location: Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture; Representative Director: Shotaro Nakai) signed a 'Natural Capital Creation Partnership Agreement' on Tuesday, May 27, 2026. (*Natural capital: blessings from nature such as forests, water, and living creatures).
This agreement aims to create a system to revitalize the local economy by regenerating unmanaged mountain forests, centered on formulating a 'Motegi Town Natural Capital Vision' for the forests that occupy about 64% (approx. 11,000 ha) of the town's area.
Located in the headwaters of the Naka River system, Motegi's rich satoyama (community-managed forests and surrounding landscape) is home to rare species that are declining nationwide, such as the grey-faced buzzard, giant water bug, and Lefua echigonia. To pass this natural ecosystem on to the next generation, we will work on its regeneration together with town residents, local businesses, and corporations. The regenerated nature will become an attraction for the town, drawing in people who want to visit and get involved. We will promote this cycle from Motegi Town to the rest of the country as a new solution model for the common challenges faced by mountainous regions.

◾️ Background of the Partnership
The challenge of forest maintenance in mountainous areas and its impact
Motegi is a town with a satoyama landscape, with a forest ratio of about 64%, covering an area of approximately 11,000 ha. Planted forests account for 38% and natural forests for 62%.*
Currently, in mountainous areas across Japan, it is becoming difficult for people to manage forests due to aging populations, population decline, and a decrease in forestry and agriculture workers. Motegi is no exception, with several issues quietly accumulating, such as planted forests that have not been properly managed, forests where contact with owners has been lost due to generational changes, and plots where boundaries have not been confirmed for a long time.
Unthinned planted forests become dense, losing undergrowth and soil water retention capacity, which increases the risk of wildfires, floods, and landslides. Wetlands have been maintained for many years through the management of fields and waterways, and grasslands through mowing and grazing, but they disappear as they dry up or turn into forests when human intervention ceases. It is pointed out that in regions with declining populations, the extinction of rare creatures living in these satoyama environments is becoming a serious problem. In Motegi as well, familiar creatures like the Japanese brown frog are decreasing in number.
*Source: 2025 'Tochigi Prefecture Forestry and Forest Industry Statistics' (Tochigi Prefecture Department of Environment and Forestry)

Motegi Town, a hotspot for satoyama ecosystems
On the other hand, Motegi is located in the headwaters of the Naka River system and still has a rich satoyama where rare species that are significantly decreasing nationwide, such as the grey-faced buzzard, giant water bug, and Lefua echigonia, inhabit.
At the afforestation and wetland creation sites run by Aobagumi, the nature restoration company that established the Tochigi Association for Creating 100-Year Forests, about 30 rare species have been confirmed so far by creating plots that consider biodiversity.

Past Activities of the Tochigi Association for Creating 100-Year Forests
The Tochigi Association for Creating 100-Year Forests (hereafter 'Tochimorikai') is a general incorporated association established by Aobagumi Co., Ltd., which focuses on nature restoration through planting and nurturing forests, and Forest One Co., Ltd., which manages forests through thinning, to solve forestry issues in Tochigi Prefecture. By utilizing support from companies, it has built a unique system to handle 'logging, planting, and nurturing' comprehensively at no cost to the forest owners (premised on a long-term contract of 30 years or more).
So far, it has taken over and regenerated mountain forests mainly in Motegi, Nakagawa, and Ashikaga in Tochigi Prefecture. Particularly in Motegi, it has continued planting, wetland creation, and grassland development based at its company-owned forest in the Ayuta district. Through corporate tours, it has been restoring the environment for rare creatures while also building a foundation for collaboration with companies.

Tailwind from the Revised Forest Management Act
Furthermore, the revised Forest Management Act of 2025 (effective April 1, 2026) newly established a 'Management Support Corporation' system, allowing municipalities to entrust forest maintenance support services to private corporations. Based on this agreement, Motegi Town and Tochimorikai will also consider this designation and take a step towards creating a system where the local government and the private sector work together to restore forests. They will begin preparations to investigate and take over unmanaged forests, including those with unknown owners, in cooperation with the town.

◾️ The Vision ── A town nurtured by nature restoration, supported by the community and corporations
This agreement is not limited to one-off forest maintenance but is a circular initiative connecting the municipality, private companies, town residents, urban residents, and potential migrants. Both parties will formulate a 'Motegi Town Natural Capital Vision' to share the current state and future vision of the town's forests. In collaboration with forest owners and businesses in the Haga area, they will begin consolidating and maintaining unmanaged forests.
Companies that sympathize with nature restoration (Nature Positive) will participate in the planned forest maintenance as a place for learning and sponsorship. Aobagumi has been continuously conducting tours for corporate representatives in the Motegi field, building an economic cycle that supports the forest together with companies.
As learning and experience opportunities expand and the regenerated nature itself becomes an attraction of the town, Motegi will be recognized by people nationwide interested in satoyama as a place they 'want to visit' and 'want to be involved with.' Some of these people will become part of the 'relationship population,' and eventually, as migrants and leaders, they will become the future of the town.
People who maintain the forest, companies that support the forest, and people who visit the forest. The mutual support of these three parties will create a cycle where nature and the community grow together. Furthermore, this cycle will be expanded beyond the forests to other dormant natural capital within the town, such as abandoned farmland, and the 'system to revitalize the local economy while regenerating nature' will be promoted as a solution model for the common challenges faced by mountainous regions nationwide.
This initiative is not something that can be completed by just Motegi Town and Tochimorikai. We will promote it together with everyone living in the town, everyone doing business in Tochigi, companies with bases in Tochigi, and everyone who sympathizes with this initiative. We ask for your help in creating a satoyama that we want to leave for the next 100 years.

◾️ Comment from Motegi Mayor Tatsuya Furuguchi
Motegi is a town that has walked alongside nature, with forests occupying 60% of its area. In the past, it was a region prosperous in leaf tobacco cultivation and log-grown shiitake mushroom production, utilizing its nature. Since then, Motegi has always been engaged in creating an attractive town that utilizes nature, such as 'Sato-zukuri' (village creation) and the 'owner system' that leverages the satoyama and rural landscapes, the development of the organic recycling center 'Midorikan' which built a natural circulation system, and the development of 'Motegi Junior High School' and 'Fumi no Mori Motegi' using timber from town-owned forests inherited from our predecessors.
In recent years, the environment surrounding forests has deteriorated due to an increase in forests with unknown owners and a decline in the motivation of forest owners due to low timber prices. However, I believe that signing this natural capital creation agreement with the Tochigi Association for Creating 100-Year Forests, which has long been involved in nature restoration in Motegi, will be a step forward for future forest creation. In the future, I would like to build a model case for forest and ecosystem creation that utilizes the rich experience of Tochimorikai and the rich natural environment of Motegi, and use it for the overall forest policy of Motegi Town.

◾️ Comment from Shotaro Nakai, Representative Director of the Tochigi Association for Creating 100-Year Forests
Since the Meiji era, the number of people involved in forestry and agriculture in Japan has decreased by more than 90%. In satoyama where human intervention has ceased, ecosystem degradation is progressing due to the decrease of wetlands and grasslands, an increase in wildlife damage, and an increase in endangered species. This is not just a problem for Motegi; it is a common challenge for mountainous regions nationwide. Nevertheless, Motegi is a region with the potential of a rare satoyama, located in the Naka River headwaters and home to many rare species. Based at our company-owned forest in the Ayuta district, we have been planting, regenerating wetlands and grasslands, and holding corporate tours, through which we have come to feel how precious the remaining satoyama is. By creating a new relationship between people and nature in the region, the process of conservation and regeneration itself becomes an attraction of the town, drawing in people who want to visit and get involved, and creating new jobs and circulation in the region. This agreement aims not just to create a vision, but to build a 'system to revitalize the local economy by regenerating nature' together with the town. We would like to invite companies, town residents, businesses in Tochigi, and everyone interested in satoyama to join us in this initiative.

◾️ Overview of the Partnership Agreement
・Agreement Name: Natural Capital Creation Partnership Agreement
・Signatories: Motegi Town, Tochigi Prefecture / Tochigi Association for Creating 100-Year Forests
・Date of Signing: Tuesday, May 27, 2026
・Period: Until the end of March 2027
・Main Activities:
　① Formulation of the Motegi Town Natural Capital Vision (current situation analysis, issue identification, future vision, promotion policy)
　② Planning and proposing measures and projects to realize the vision (starting with a demonstration in one model district)
　③ Organizing resource information on natural capital (including biodiversity)
Furthermore, after the agreement is signed, we will begin preparations to investigate and take over abandoned mountain forests, including those with unknown owners, in cooperation with the town, with a view to being designated as a 'Management Support Corporation' under Article 57 of the revised Forest Management Act of 2025 (effective April 1, 2026).