**5. Conclusions**

The origin of the forest producer cooperative was the common forest starting during the Edo Period. At that time, forests were an essential resource for agriculture, energy, and daily life. A limited number of people living in a specific area conducted sustainable forest management by following local rules and excluding outsiders. Since 1966, some of such forests have been changed to forest producer cooperatives. These cooperatives have endured many hardships and continue to face major financial and other challenges. However, some novel solutions have recently been applied to revive cooperatives. All of these have included expanding the cooperative's business outside of the forest owned by the cooperative. This has resulted in the formation of new business networks, acceptance of new types of administrative services, and new sources of funding. Moreover, a new generation of leaders, with fresh ideas and different job experiences compared to past presidents, appears to be having an impact, taking the cooperatives into new, unexplored directions.
