Japan is to cut down and replant vast forests in an effort to overcome an epidemic of hay fever that causes misery to tens of millions of people every spring.
The government has announced a programme that will target forests in “priority zones” close to the country’s biggest cities. It will invest in new logging technology and on therapies to alleviate kafunsho, the malady that affects two out of five people in Japan.
“In order to ensure the safety and security of Japanese people, the government intends to take vigorous measures against hay fever in line with the package,” Fumio Kishida, the prime minister, said after the cabinet meeting at which the programme was agreed.
The pollen count last spring was three times higher than in 2022
ALAMY
The problem is caused by cedar and cypress trees,
