A plan revealed recently by the Forestry Agency could be good news for hay-fever sufferers.

The plan is “to replace roughly 2 million hectares of cedar forests with broad-leafed and other trees in the next 10 years”.

With now 10% of the population said to be suffering from hay-fever (myself included, since moving to Japan), the government has finally decided to tackle the havoc wrought by the short-sighted post-war programme of planting 4.5 million hectares worth of cedars, which all release their pollen in billowing clouds at the same time (followed by the cypresses about a month later), bringing misery to millions.

According to an Asahi article (now defunct - sorry, been a bit tardy with this one)

The agency will research wind direction and other factors in assessing ways to reduce the misery caused by wind-borne pollen especially around Tokyo and city areas of the Kinki, Chubu and Kita-Kyushu regions.

The trees will be felled and broad-leafed trees and other varieties planted in their place.

The agency’s main effort will center on the Tokyo metropolitan area, where the pollen content could be reduced by 20 percent from current levels, officials said.

The agency is applying for 2.5 billion yen in next year’s budget to cover the replanting and research into development of cedar strains that produce less or no pollen.