Japan, a major timber importer, relies on wood from abroad to fill roughly 70 percent of its needs. Legislative steps are being considered to crack down on the import of timber made from illegally logged trees. Lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party earlier weighed separate bills to regulate such timber imports and are said to be preparing joint legislation that they hope to get enacted during the current Diet session. Japan has long come under criticism that its lax import regulations encourage illegal logging abroad, and the planned legislation is reportedly intended to show that the country, as this year's Group of Seven chair, is taking action. But if legislation is to be passed, it should have strong teeth.

Illegal logging is an increasingly serious problem in many developing economies in the tropical regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as Russia. It not only endangers the sustainability of the environment but threatens the rights of indigenous peoples whose lives rely on their native forestry ecosystems. Logging that violates local government regulations and in protected areas such as national parks is rampant in many countries due to the shortage of manpower and funding to police such activities, as well as collusion between government authorities and armed forces with logging businesses. According to data provided to the G-7 summit held last year in Germany, an estimated 15 to 30 percent of the world's timber products come from illegal logging, with the ratio climbing to 50 to 90 percent among the world's major producers of tropical timber.

Efforts have been afoot in advanced economies to curb the import of illegally logged timber products. Countries such as the United States and Australia as well as the European Union have taken legislative steps to ban their businesses from using illegally logged products and require importers to certify that their imports have been lawfully produced. The U.S. imposes heavy fines on companies that violate the rules. The Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade accord calls on its participating countries to take effective steps to fight the problem.