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Certifier hoodwinked on quake-proofing
By KAHO SHIMIZU
Staff writer
A Tokyo-based company that state-certifies construction applications said Friday it noticed no problems during its examination of faked applications by a Chiba-based architectural firm.
Kawasaki - This apartment building in Kawasaki Ward was found not to be quake-proof.
The assertion by eHomes Ltd. follows revelation Thursday by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry that Aneha Architect Design Office submitted false data on the structural strength of the Keio Presso Inn Kayabacho in Tokyo and 20 apartment buildings in the capital, and in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures.
The frauds committed by Aneha were exposed by a recent in-house inspection by eHomes, which said it failed to detect the false calculations as Aneha was clever in hiding the fraud.
"We were unable to detect (the fraudulent data) during our normal screening process. We had to use different approaches to find out," eHomes President Togo Fujita told a news conference in Tokyo.
The company said it immediately reported the falsifications to the ministry when they were discovered.
The ministry has said two of the Aneha buildings could collapse if hit by an earthquake of an intensity level above upper 5 on the Japanese scale to 7.
It released the addresses of these two structures -- apartment buildings in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, and Kawasaki.
Under the Building Standards Law, a building must be designed not to collapse in the event of an earthquake with an intensity level of 6 or higher.
The strength of the support beams and pillars in the buildings in question are weaker than the standard set by the Building Standards Law, ministry officials said.
But ministry officials withheld the locations of the remaining 11 buildings already completed, saying they have yet to clarify how weak the structures actually are.
Some might be almost as strong as normal buildings, and disclosing their names and addresses might unnecessarily hurt property value, the officials said, adding that they will wait until the ministry completes recalculations of structural strength.
Of the 21 buildings in question, 13 apartment blocks with a total of some 471 units and the hotel, owned by the Keio Presso Inn Co. in the Kayabacho district in Tokyo's Chuo Ward, have already been completed, while four condominiums are still under construction. Work has not begun on the remaining three apartment buildings, ministry officials said.
Nine of the completed buildings, including the hotel, are in Tokyo, two others are located in Chiba and three in Kanagawa.
The ministry began contacting the owners and residents of the buildings to explain its plan to conduct seismic assessments and to warn them that they may have to vacate the buildings if they are considered dangerous.
The ministry Thursday also ordered local governments nationwide to check that their procedures to calculate buildings' structural strength are sound.
Falsifying quake-proof analysis is a violation of the Building Standards Law and the land ministry is preparing to file a criminal complaint against Aneha.
In cooperation with municipalities, the land ministry is also checking documents submitted on the 90 buildings handled by Aneha over the past five years, but they are finding it hard to locate them, officials said, adding that the fraud might have been prevented had the entities designated to inspect building strength demanded that Aneha submit the necessary documents and made appropriate inspections.
Keio Presso Inn Co., which operates seven business hotels in Tokyo, said Friday that it closed its Kayabacho hotel once it learned of the falsified calculations. Keio Presso officials said the 265-room hotel will not resume operations until the company is confident the building has passed a seismic assessment.
Keio Presso said it is now investigating whether the other six hotels have the same problem.
Further to this, as of yesterday (26/11/2005) two apartment buildings were deemed unsafe and residents ordered to move immediately.
By KAHO SHIMIZU
Staff writer
A Tokyo-based company that state-certifies construction applications said Friday it noticed no problems during its examination of faked applications by a Chiba-based architectural firm.
Kawasaki - This apartment building in Kawasaki Ward was found not to be quake-proof. The assertion by eHomes Ltd. follows revelation Thursday by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry that Aneha Architect Design Office submitted false data on the structural strength of the Keio Presso Inn Kayabacho in Tokyo and 20 apartment buildings in the capital, and in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures.
The frauds committed by Aneha were exposed by a recent in-house inspection by eHomes, which said it failed to detect the false calculations as Aneha was clever in hiding the fraud.
"We were unable to detect (the fraudulent data) during our normal screening process. We had to use different approaches to find out," eHomes President Togo Fujita told a news conference in Tokyo.
The company said it immediately reported the falsifications to the ministry when they were discovered.
The ministry has said two of the Aneha buildings could collapse if hit by an earthquake of an intensity level above upper 5 on the Japanese scale to 7.
It released the addresses of these two structures -- apartment buildings in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, and Kawasaki.
Under the Building Standards Law, a building must be designed not to collapse in the event of an earthquake with an intensity level of 6 or higher.
The strength of the support beams and pillars in the buildings in question are weaker than the standard set by the Building Standards Law, ministry officials said.
But ministry officials withheld the locations of the remaining 11 buildings already completed, saying they have yet to clarify how weak the structures actually are.
Some might be almost as strong as normal buildings, and disclosing their names and addresses might unnecessarily hurt property value, the officials said, adding that they will wait until the ministry completes recalculations of structural strength.
Of the 21 buildings in question, 13 apartment blocks with a total of some 471 units and the hotel, owned by the Keio Presso Inn Co. in the Kayabacho district in Tokyo's Chuo Ward, have already been completed, while four condominiums are still under construction. Work has not begun on the remaining three apartment buildings, ministry officials said.
Nine of the completed buildings, including the hotel, are in Tokyo, two others are located in Chiba and three in Kanagawa.
The ministry began contacting the owners and residents of the buildings to explain its plan to conduct seismic assessments and to warn them that they may have to vacate the buildings if they are considered dangerous.
The ministry Thursday also ordered local governments nationwide to check that their procedures to calculate buildings' structural strength are sound.
Falsifying quake-proof analysis is a violation of the Building Standards Law and the land ministry is preparing to file a criminal complaint against Aneha.
In cooperation with municipalities, the land ministry is also checking documents submitted on the 90 buildings handled by Aneha over the past five years, but they are finding it hard to locate them, officials said, adding that the fraud might have been prevented had the entities designated to inspect building strength demanded that Aneha submit the necessary documents and made appropriate inspections.
Keio Presso Inn Co., which operates seven business hotels in Tokyo, said Friday that it closed its Kayabacho hotel once it learned of the falsified calculations. Keio Presso officials said the 265-room hotel will not resume operations until the company is confident the building has passed a seismic assessment.
Keio Presso said it is now investigating whether the other six hotels have the same problem.
Further to this, as of yesterday (26/11/2005) two apartment buildings were deemed unsafe and residents ordered to move immediately.