The Next Generation of Stewards

In Japan, forestry isn’t a career that draws the young. It’s physically demanding, low-profile, and often seen as a vanishing industry. But for Naoki Yoshida and Naoyuki Fushimi, it’s exactly where they want to be — out in the mountains of Hinohara, helping to restore forests planted long before they were born. 

Finding purpose in an unlikely place  

Neither of them set out to become foresters. For Naoyuki, it started with a simple idea: do something that helps. He saw how Japan’s forests were becoming overgrown and unmanaged, and how that affected ecosystems and water resources. Forestry offered a way to take real action — not in theory, but with his hands. 

Naoki felt the same. “I wanted to be outside,” he says. “But I also wanted to do something essential — something that protects the balance between cities and nature. And I found that in forestry.” 

They both knew it wasn’t a glamorous path. The industry has long struggled with an aging workforce, low visibility, and little financial reward. But at Tokyo Chainsaw, something felt different — intentional, modern, forward-looking. 

Work you can see 

The motivation, they say, comes from seeing their work take shape in front of them. Naoyuki describes clearing thick Shitagari grass and watching sunlight flood the forest floor again. Carving new trails into overgrown mountains. Thinning a dark, tangled forest and walking back through a space filled with light and air. 

That moment when you turn around and the forest looks different — brighter, more alive — it’s powerful, he says. 

Naoki, now in a management role, sees it from another angle. He’s focused on how to connect the forest’s value — ecological, cultural, even economic — with the urban world. “This isn’t just timber. It’s an asset with history and future potential,” he says. 

Naoyuki agrees — but also sees a bigger picture. “Forests need people. Fifty years ago, there were thousands of forest workers in Tokyo alone. Now there are only a few hundred. The forests are still here, but the hands to care for them are disappearing.” 

Both men believe the future of Japan’s forests depends on more people seeing that value — and being willing to join in. 

We need more young workers, says Naoyuki. People with new ideas, new energy. Forestry can change. We’re already starting to see that.

And in a field where tradition runs deep, their presence alone is proof of that change. Against the odds, they’ve made forestry their future — and in doing so, they’re helping reshape the future of Japan’s forests, too. 

Click on the image below to meet more passionate individuals working in FSC-certified forests, and discover how they’re helping shape a more resilient future for forests and communities alike.