As president of Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ryu Yano believes timber in this country not only should be used for business purposes, but also should be properly managed to preserve the environment and contribute to society.

The company uses domestic timber for pillars, foundations and other main structures of its My Forest brand of houses, which the company started marketing in October to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the start of its housing business.

"Though people probably have an image of us as a house builder, one of our most important jobs is to manage forests in this country by planting and looking after trees. In fact, my company owns forests and mountain land that accounts for one-thousandth of Japan's land area," Yano said.

Sumitomo Forestry's sales are evenly earned between its housing division and the timber and building materials division.

"I believe my company has contributed to Japan's natural environment by preserving forests for more than 300 years since the [company's] founders started the forestry business," Yano said.

"Forests not only act as carbon dioxide sinks, but also play an important role in preserving mountains, controlling floods and maintaining the ecosystem," he said.

"Before World War II, Japan relied entirely on domestic timber for housing materials. But in the the rapid economic growth [since the war], imports of timber from North America and Southeast Asia rapidly increased," Yano said. "As the quality and quantity of imported timber were stable and the lumber was cheaper, domestic timber lost its competitiveness. Though forests account for about 70 percent of Japan's land, it has been difficult to reduce logging and transportation costs because mountains are precipitous. Sluggish sales of domestic timber are damaging forests."

However, some factors have favored domestic timber in recent years, he said. Shipments of imported timber are more expensive because of soaring crude oil prices, and there has been a rapid increase in demand for timber by China and India.

"Sumitomo Forestry believes utilization of domestic timber is our mission," Yano said.

The construction industry has faced a series of scandals, such as asbestos problems, scams involving home refurbishment services and the falsification of earthquake-resistance data, which came to light late last year.

"It is extremely regrettable that the people responsible did not follow regulations. This made me feel once again how important it is to do business honestly. If consumers develop an ability to distinguish good from bad products, the industry will be cleansed," Yano said.

"Our clients have high expectations. For the first time in the housing industry, we set up a call center operating around the clock, 365 days a year. We also set up a long-term support system that checks on sold houses every year. By placing top priority on customers, we want to provide satisfactory housing environments," he said.

Yano joined Sumitomo Forestry in 1963 after graduating from the foreign language department of Kitakyushu University. He was sent overseas, first to Seattle at the age of 25. After serving at the firm's U.S. office for a second time, he worked in divisions for overseas businesses and became president in 1999.

In the United States, Yano conducted research on forests in the Rocky Mountains and other places.

"When a bridge was washed away while I was in an Alaskan forest, Inuits gave me food, which I ate under the midnight sun. When a helicopter was unable to arrive to pick me up because of bad weather, I built a fire to keep the wolves away. It was really fun to work so close to nature," Yano recalled.

"I had some hard times during a slump in timber sales. My company also had trouble with a local producer over renewing a contract, and faced a lawsuit in the United States," he said. "A local newspaper criticized us, writing that a big Japanese company was bullying a tiny local firm. But I fought the suit believing that we were in the right. And my company won the case. But I think of this experience as precious as I was able to overcome an extreme hardship."