Japan 'to intensify efforts' to combat illegal timber trade

As the world's largest timber importing country, lots of illegally felled trees from Indonesia allegedly end up in Japan. In order to prevent the trade of illegal timber or other wood-based products, action from timber-buying countries, such as Japan is urgently needed. The Jakarta Post's Rendi A. Witular spoke with Japan's senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, Ichiro Ichikawa, about Japan's policies intended to prevent the trade of illegal timber from Indonesia. The discussion was on the sidelines of a recent workshop held by the Asian Forest Partnership (AFP) in Yogyakarta. Below are excerpts. Question: What is Japan's policy when it comes to preventing trade of illegally felled timber?