Daiwa House Industry Co., one of Japan’s leading manufacturers of prefabricated homes, has said construction defects have been found in some 2,000 buildings, comprising around 7,000 individual households around the country.
At a news conference on Friday, 12 April Daiwa’s senior managing executive officer told reporters in Osaka that the company deeply apologises for the defects.
Potential violations of building standards include columns in apartment buildings with insufficient fire-resistance coatings, reports newspaper The Mainichi.
The official said some buildings handed over to owners between 2001 and 2010 were different from their original designs.
The officer, Kazuto Tsuchida, said in some cases the company’s designers had not fully understood changes in law made in 2000, reports Japan Times.Â
Foundation work on some buildings also did not meet government specifications, Tsuchida said.
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has instructed Daiwa immediately to explain the problem fully to owners.
Daiwa said residents would not have to leave their homes for the remedial work.
According to The Mainichi, a whistleblower spoke out about the defects in December 2016, but it took until July 2018 for the company to set up a panel to investigate the matter.
Public confidence in housing has been further hit by defects found in walls in 14,599 apartment structures run by Japanese property company Leopalace21.
Image: The Ryugasaki Plant of Daiwa House Industry Co. (Daiwa House Industry Co.)
