News that surfaced over a condominium complex in Yokohama — the faulty foundation work for its construction that caused one of the buildings to tilt and the falsification of the related data — must be causing concern among not just the residents of the complex but people elsewhere, since the company responsible for the shoddy job conducted the same type of work for construction of more than 3,000 commercial and residential buildings across Japan over the past 10 years. All parties concerned, including government authorities, should unravel why and how the faulty work and data manipulation were committed and devise concrete ways to prevent such wrongdoing.
Public concern and the anger of the residents should be all the greater because the complex, consisting of four buildings with 705 residential units, is only 8 years old and big-name companies were responsible for its construction and sale. Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. was the main constructor and Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co. sold the condominiums. Asahi Kasei Construction Materials Corp., a subsidiary of Asahi Kasei Corp., was in charge of the work to drive piles into the ground to provide underground support for the buildings.
As early as November 2014, residents of the complex notified Mitsui Fudosan Residential that the handrails in one of the buildings connected through passageways with those of the adjacent building had sunk about 2 cm — a sign that the building had tilted. The company reportedly suggested to the residents that the gap might be attributable to damage from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. It wasn't until this past July that the firm told the residents that two of the building's piles could not be confirmed to have reached the solid ground known as the support layer. The company should reflect on its failure to provide the residents with a quick and sincere response.