The primary goal ofthis project is to identify value-added opportunities in Japan where BC wood products have the greatest potential for competitive advantage, sustainability of the resource, and maximizing the number of jobs created per tree. The project offers a powerful tool for secondary and primary producers in their development of product and market strategies, both for the short and the long terms. The project will also provide a common basis for the industry associations' promotional efforts. Finally, the project will provide a foundation to guide the government in trade (for example, facilitating market access), policy (for example, prioritizing silvicultural investments) and research. The overall objective of this study is to compare wood product attributes demanded to those that can be profitably and competitively supplied to the Japanese market by the BC primary and secondary wood products sector. There are three phases to this project, all interlinked. The first phase is covered in this report and addresses the attributes the Japanese market demands in both building products such as windows, doors, structural components and secondary manufactured wood products such as furniture and outdoor furnishings. The second phase is a competitor examination using an international trade-flow analysis to highlight areas of competitive advantage for the BC value-added wood products sector. The initial development of this model is already complete and is titled Competitor Analysis 1. Forest Renewal BC received it August 1998. Competitor Analysis 2 will refine the model with input from this Attribute Analysis and is scheduled to be complete by the end of 1998. The third phase is to use the expertise that resides at Forintek Canada Corp. to examine the attributes demanded by Japanese customers to determine which species of BC can supply what attributes. That is, given our resource which of these attributes can be supplied by BC producers. The trade-flow analysis will assist in determining who else could supply those attributes, that is the competition. This report is organized to facilitate use by businesses as well as policy makers.