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JCP demands review of system of building inspections by private companies

Concerning falsified quake-resistance data ensuring the structural strength of ferro-concrete buildings in and around Tokyo, the Japanese Communist Party on November 22 requested the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry to carry out a thorough investigation into the falsification scandal and take necessary relief measures for the residents involved.

House of Councilors member Koike Akira and House of Representatives member Kasai Akira along with 45 JCP local assembly members made representations to the ministry.

The JCP delegation pointed out that the underlying cause of the falsification of data regarding structural soundness is the 1998 adverse revision of the Building Standards Law that allowed private companies to be commissioned by the government to conduct building inspections.

The JCP is demanding that this system of commissioning private sector firms to conduct inspections be reviewed to prevent more falsification from taking place.

How has the inspection system failed to detect the false data?

Nagatani Yoshiro, secretary of the Association of Structural Construction Design Offices, complained, "Structural design should be the last thing to be weakened, as it concerns safety. However, the trend goes that the lower the cost and the shorter the construction period, the better."

Horikoshi Shohei, a structural designer who works as a subcontractor for design offices in Tokyo, said that it is not unusual that cost savings means more remuneration for designers.

Kawauchi Toshihiko, a licensed architect in Fukuoka City in Kyushu, commented that the incident is "only the tip of the iceberg." He said, "The government must be held responsible for allowing the private sector to conduct building inspections. A similar case of falsified data is now being brought to court in Fukuoka City."
- Akahata, November 23, 2005