falsified quake-proof

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JCP: Building inspections were privatized at the cost of safety

In the House of Representatives Budget Committee on January 26 discussing the falsified quake-resistance data, Japanese Communist Party representative Kokuta Keiji said that the government must be held responsible for it. He pointed out that revising the Building Standards Law in 1998 to open building inspections to private sector inspectors competing with each other for "cheaper, quicker, and easy-grading" at the expense of safety was the underlying cause.

Prime Minister Koizumi said, "It is too early to link the data falsification to the marketing of inspections." He even stated that more cases can occur in the future.

Citing a survey by Nikkei Architecture magazine showing that 12.7 percent of respondents admitted their having falsified building data, Kokuta warned that data falsification is prevailing. The prime minister oversimplified the situation by attributing the issue to their "lack of morals and ethics."

Kokuta pointed out how irresponsible it is for the government to open building inspections to the private sector and consequently undermining safety regulations. Koizumi insisted on the need for cutting costs through market competition.

The JCP representative maintained that the government is to blame for leaving building safety inspections to for-profit corporations under the government policy of deregulation.
- Akahata, January 27, 2006