The Aneha scandal: building fraud in Japan

Japan's building regulation system is composed of Building Standard Law (BSL) and Kenchikushi Law. Compliance to BSL is secured mainly by the building confirmation procedure and kenchikushi (building designer) qualification system. BSL has advanced structural requirements and a structural calculation program approval system. In 2005, the Aneha scandal, involving falsification of structural calculation documents, was uncovered. Around 100 hotels and condominiums were falsified utilising approved programs, 30 of which were deemed strikingly dangerous. Neither the chief designer nor the confirmation agency was able to discover Aneha's fraud, demonstrating that the Japanese building regulation system failed to protect public safety. Large-scale revisions were made to laws and regulations, including the introduction of a structural calculation review process, the publication of guidelines for confirmation/inspection, reformation of the approval scheme programme, and control over private confirmation agencies and kenchikushis. These were drafted and enforced in a very short period, which resulted in negative effects for the economy and the management/labour environment of practitioners. Some victims raised lawsuits for damages against local governments and agencies that had overlooked the falsification. It is suggested that more time should be taken between evaluating the choice of alternatives to cope with a problem and learning lessons from it.