The scandal surrounding structural flaws and falsified data for a tilting residential building in Yokohama has cast a spotlight on loopholes in the real estate industry's entrenched system, according to experts who speculate the trouble may turn out to be just the tip of an iceberg.
A number of piles providing underground support for one of the four buildings in the Park City Lala Yokohama residential complex in Tsuzuki Ward, designed to rest in rock, have been found to be too short or else had their construction records falsified.
The scandal involves major real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co., the prime contractor Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co., and subcontractors Hitachi High Technologies Corp. and Asahi Kasei Construction Materials Corp.