In preparing for the field season one of the main tasks has been to navigate the Japanese Government Permit system. Due to my limited abilities in Japanese I am very fortunate to be working with Dr. Koichi Takahashi of Shinshu University who has done the lion’s share of the permitting process.
My main task in this was to determine which mountains I would like to conduct my research and where on the mountain the study sites would be located. To do this I conducted a site selection in Arc GIS limiting the area within Chubu Sangaku National Park to areas between 2200-2700m, less than 40 degrees slope and by dominant geological stratum (Granitic or Volcanic). Using this method I narrowed down the potential study sites within the park down. However, I had never been to these mountains so I was not sure if they actually had the forest structures that I have proposed to study. Using Google Earth, Bing, etc. satellite imagery I tried to examine these mountains to determine if they were appropriate. However, the imagery for the mountains is nearly always during the winter, thus the hiamatsu (creeping pine) is covered with a thick layer of snow and the kaba (birch) is hard to detect. After discussing the potential mountain study sites we settled on nine mountains to propose for the research.
Map of the nine mountains in Chubu Sangaku National Park/ Northern Alps
Once the mountains were determined the waiting from my side began, while Dr. Takahashi completed the permits form for each of the mountains. In this process the exact site needs to be located on a map with a photograph of the proposed area. Additionally, the amount of soils and tree cores to be sampled needs to be clearly stated.
Permits are first submitted to the prefecture Ministry of Environment, in my case I am working in three different prefectures (Nagano, Gifu and Toyama) so permits were sent to each one for the mountains within their borders. Once the permits have been cleared by the prefectures they are sent on to the National Ministry of Environment. Permits are then sent to Ministry of Forestry for approval, in highly protected areas, such as those in the Kamikochi area permits need to also be approved by the Ministry of Culture. The permits are returned to the applicant after each ministry has approved or declined the permit and the applicant then sends them to the next ministry. This whole system has seemed to be a large bureaucratic black box to me; however, I know there are many steps to getting an approved permit to do research in American national parks as well. The difference I think is that both the culture and language are different here, both which typically leave me in a confused state.
After the first full week in Japan I have about 3/4 of the permits with prospects of having the Ministry of Culture permits by the end of July. Currently I have enough permits to begin working without worrying about the last few for the time being. Things are looking up and the fact that I can write this means the black box is turning grey.