Thoughts on Japanese Construction After a Business Trip to Japan

Our company arranged for employees to go on a business trip to Japan from October 20 to October 27 to inspect the market and construction sites in Japan.

When repairing the surface of a house and building a new residence, the most commonly used scaffolding is the socket-type scaffolding, which is covered with a blue safety net to prevent objects from falling, isolate dust and protect privacy.

In Japan, buildings are typically designed to be narrow but tall (often three stories or higher) to maximize the permitted floor area ratio and height restrictions. However, due to narrow roads, it is often impractical to use large machinery or occupy the roadway for extended periods. Therefore, after the foundation concrete pouring is completed, a large number of modular or prefabricated reinforced concrete (RC) components are commonly utilized to minimize on-site construction steps and shorten the project timeline.

Reinforced concrete (RC) is widely used in the construction of apartment buildings, high-rises, structures with one or more basement levels, as well as commercial and public buildings. In Japan's urban housing sector, however, small to medium-sized single-family homes are predominantly built with wood or light-gauge steel frames. RC is more typically employed for multi-unit residential buildings, which are subject to stringent seismic design requirements. This includes meticulous detailing of elements like shear walls and reinforcing bar arrangements, along with rigorous structural calculations to ensure high earthquake resistance.

If you know Japanese construction, or you are a Japanese construction company, please feel free to discuss and point out the mistakes.