Tree pollen levels are expected to be lower than average in 2004 due to the cold summer last year, according to weather information provider Weathernews Inc.
Pollen levels are expected to drop, and some regions will see less than a 10th of the levels of 2003, when large volumes of allergy-causing Japanese cedar and cypress pollen hit the country, it said.
The pollen season is expected to begin in Kyushu and Shikoku in early February, and the Kinki, Tokai and Kanto regions in mid-February.
Northern coastal areas of the Kanto region, southern coastal areas of the Tohoku region and the Hokuriku region will see the season begin in late February.
High amounts of pollen hit many areas of Japan last year because temperatures were high and there was little rain during summer 2002, according to Weathernews.
In contrast, the lower temperatures and rainy weather of last summer are likely to lead to less pollen this year.
Despite the expected pollen decline, people still need to take precautions to control allergy symptoms, said Shiro Yoshimura, a doctor at Ashiya Municipal Hospital in Hyogo Prefecture and a senior member of a nonprofit pollen information association.