Punishment at last has been meted out to now-disqualified structural designer Hidetsugu Aneha, the main player in the earthquake-resistance data-fabrication scandal that surfaced in November 2005. The Tokyo District Court Tuesday sentenced him to five years in prison, coupled with a 1.8 million yen fine, for fabricating data, lending his license to another building designer and committing perjury before a Diet committee.
Although the court handed down the sentence sought by the prosecution, there's a residual feeling that something is missing. That's because the government itself, which is responsible to some extent for the scandal, has not been held to account. It was the government's deregulation policy, allowing government-designated private agencies to certify building designs from 1999, that induced the designer to abuse his special skills.
And despite the ruling, victims of the scandal have not been relieved of their suffering in a tangible manner. The designer fabricated quake-resistance data for 99 condominiums and hotels in 18 prefectures.