“Without Nepal, Japan would not function.”The yellow flowers of the paperbush shrub seen in Dolakha, Nepal, in December 2023. Its bark has long, strong fibers that are perfect for making thin yet durable paper, according to the Kantou website. But as the shortage of Japanese paperbush became evident in the following years, Kanpou and the Nepali farmers ramped up production until they became the main source of the yen bill. It’s a protracted process, said Matsubara: farmers plant seedlings in early summer, harvest their branches in the fall, then spend several months processing the bark through steaming, peeling, washing and drying. The profits from the paperbush sales have provided a new revenue stream to Nepali communities, said Matsubara.

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Persons: “, ”, Tadashi Matsubara, Matsubara, Tadashi Matsubara Kanpou, It’s, it’s, Eiichi Shibusawa, –, Kanpou Organizations: Tokyo CNN — Banks, Kanpou, “, National Printing Bureau, Kyodo, Bank of Japan, Observatory, Ministry of Economy, Trade, Industry, government’s Japan International Cooperation Agency, CNN Locations: Japan, Nepal, China, Dolakha, Everest, Tokyo, Farmers, Kathmandu, Indian, Kolkata, Yokohama, Odawara, Ilam, Nepal’s Ilam