Demolition workers got to work Monday tearing down a business hotel in central Tokyo less than a year old that had been deemed unsafe because its resistance to earthquakes was falsified by disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha.
Operated by Keio Electric Railway Co., Keio Presso Inn Kayabacho, in Chuo Ward, halted business after the falsification came to light in mid-November.
Officials said its quake-resistance is just 26 percent of government standards. It is the only hotel out of four buildings on which the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry has based a criminal accusation against Aneha for suspected building standards law violations.
The 15-story, 265-room structure was built by Kimura Construction Co., based in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, and completed last June. Kimura Construction went bankrupt after the data-fabrication fiasco came to light.
Investigators are expected to check the hotel's structure to see how strong it is.
Monday's work began a little after 8 a.m., as workers moved in equipment. According to railway officials, the interior of the building will be torn down first.
The real work of taking down the structure will begin in April, with workers strengthening places that appear to be weak as they proceed.
The railway also plans to raze Presso Inn Gotanda in Shinagawa Ward and Presso Inn Ikebukuro in Toshima Ward as their data were also handled by Aneha.
