INFTA’s fact-finding mission in Taiwan
In March 2025, INFTA‘s Executive Committee members, Susan Joachim and Dr. Dieter Kotte, were invited by the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA), Ministry of Agriculture, to Taiwan on a fact-finding mission learn about Forest Therapy in Taiwan. The mission was organized by the Taiwan Forest Therapy Society. At a symposium conducted at FANCA’s headquarter in Taipei, FANCA’s Director General, Dr. Hwa-Ching Lin, welcomed INFTA’s representatives and expressed his hope that Forest Therapy – as an evidence-based Public health practice – could be developed further in Taiwan as a result of this mission. This expectation was shared wholeheartedly by Susan Joachim and Dr. Dieter Kotte.
INFTA’s fact-finding mission in Japan
In November 2024, INFTA‘s Executive Committee members, Susan Joachim and Dr. Dieter Kotte, were invited to Japan on a fact-finding mission to reset and restart Forest Therapy – referred to as “Shinrin-yoku” (森林浴) in Japanese. Invited by a group of business people, several site visits within the Tokyo Prefecture were conducted to evaluate their suitability for Forest Therapy. Among the places inspected were Hinohara Tomin-no-Mori, Showa Emperor Memorial Park and Komine Park in the West of Tokyo City. The Mayor of Hinohara-mura, Mr. Koji Yoshimoto, welcomed INFTA’s representatives in his office on 28 November 2024 and expressed his hope that health & wellbeing tourism could and will be strengthened in his region as a result of this mission.