A nearly 40-year-old Tokyo condominium with no elevators was reborn in March as an apartment high-rise with modern facilities, and the firm in charge of rebuilding it said the project was possible only because of a law revision that eased the requirements.
At the Haginaka condo complex built in 1968 in Ota Ward, residents started campaigning more than a decade ago to have the old building replaced.
The campaign intensified as concern grew over the lack of elevators for aging residents, the building's earthquake resistance and a dilapidated drainage system, according to Haseko Corp., which rebuilt the apartments.