2021

JSC “Latvia's State Forests” to Represent Innovations in the Forest Sector during the Latvian Days in Japan

In honour of the centenary of the twinning of Japan and Latvia, the Latvian Days will take place in Tokyo this December. In cooperation with the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA), JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) will also take part in this event, discussing different aspects of sustainable forestry and innovations in the forest sector that are interesting for investors from Japan.

As part of the Latvian Days, in order to explain the importance of bioeconomy and digitalisation in the forest sector, LVM will show videos emphasizing social responsibility and cooperation with schools. For example, the video “Growing Future in Latvia's State Forests” includes excerpts from classes at Riga Teika Secondary School, where LVM specialists together with “School 2030” experts created a new research topic for 11th-grade students of general education schools in chemistry on wood biorefining. “Environmental education in schools and the involvement of young people in the development of bioeconomy are also important in the context of Japan, because the ageing population is a significant problem there,” says Līga Abizāre, LVM Communication Project Manager.

“Forests cover about 70% of Japan's territory, which explains Japan's great interest in innovative forest management technologies, such as LVM GEO geographic information systems. The Japanese have already visited LVM and we have signed an agreement with the forest managers of Oita (Japan) on mutual cooperation in promoting the development of the forest industry and its technological solutions. I hope that participation in the Latvian Days in Japan will promote new cooperation,” says Māris Kuzmins, Director of Business Systems Solutions at LVM.

The Latvian company “Latvijas Finieris” will also represent the forest industry in Japan under the brand “Riga Wood Japan”. Special emphasis is placed on co-operation with the Japanese media in the organization of the Latvian Days; therefore, a number of different media events will be organized. The course of the Latvian Days will be covered on the Roppongi Hills media platform “Hills Life”; special stories about Latvia will be created in cooperation with the radio stations Tokyo FM and FM Osaka. The central design theme is “Christmas tree as a symbol of hope and light”. You will also have an opportunity to follow the Latvian Days on the event's website www.latviajapan.com.