Amendment to the Building Standards Act: Balancing decarbonization with the preservation of values that Japan must protect

Director of Zeroboard Research Institute, Director of Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB)

Tomoo Machiba

Not many people will realize that the revised Building Standards Act came into effect this month (April 2025). The Building Standards Act was originally established in 1950 with the aim of "protecting the lives, health, and property of the people, thereby contributing to the promotion of public welfare," and stipulates minimum standards for buildings to prevent collapse in the event of a disaster and protect human lives. * 1

The aim of this revision is to strengthen energy conservation measures in the construction sector, which accounts for approximately 3 % of Japan's Energy consumption, in order to achieve the decarbonization targets of carbon neutrality by 2050 and a 46 % reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 (compared to fiscal 2013 levels). In principle, compliance with energy conservation standards (insulation grade 4 or higher and primary Energy consumption grade 4 or higher) * 2) will be mandatory for all newly built homes and non-residential buildings (including extensions and renovations), and these standards are scheduled to be raised to the ZEH standard * 3) by 2030. * 4)

This may sound like good news, as it means that decarbonization may finally be on the way even in the Energy-inefficient housing sector, but it also brings with it some difficult problems. The most important change in the amendment is the review of the "Special Provision No. 4." According to Article 6, Paragraph 1, No. 4 of the same law, when an architect designs a small wooden building, the review of structural regulations etc. is waived, but now 2 story wooden buildings and single-story buildings over 200 2 (in other words, most ordinary homes) are exempt from the waiver. * 5

Figure: Changes to the scope of the 4 special exemption and Contents of documents to be submitted * 6)

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Recently, more and more people are buying old houses or vacant houses and renovating them to continue living there or to open a shop, but these are considered "existing non-compliant buildings," and most repairs and remodeling of 1 or more of the main structural parts (walls, pillars, floors, beams, roofs, stairs) require the submission of a confirmation application before construction, just like new construction. * 7) For example, even if an old staircase is too steep and you want to make it less steep, you must thoroughly insulate the entire building and reinforce it to be earthquake-resistant to meet the standards. Moreover, energy conservation increases the weight of the building, making it even more difficult to guarantee structural safety. Even if an old house is sturdy, it is a considerable hurdle to draw up blueprints and prove the earthquake resistance of something that was built based on the carpenter's intuition and with seismic isolation in mind.

As a result, only minor repairs will be made and the houses will be left to decay, or demolished and new buildings will be built, going against the national and local government efforts to utilize vacant houses. This will mean that only cultural assets will remain, and Japan's regional townscapes and farming and fishing village scenery that inbound tourists love will be lost. I am in favor of decarbonizing the entire housing stock, but I would like the government to consider making exceptions for buildings with long-term value, such as classic cars, and to expand subsidies for insulation renovations and earthquake reinforcement costs.

In a similar vein, the revised Food Sanitation Act, which came into force in June 2024, will require pickle Manufacturing to require business licenses and will require standards such as separating processing facilities from residences, installing lever-operated or automatic faucets, and installing windows and screens in line with HACCP * 8 ) , which is causing the disappearance of pickles made by local elderly people that have been popular and sold at roadside stations and other places. The tightening of regulations was triggered by a mass food poisoning outbreak caused by O157 in 2012, in which 8 people died from overnight pickled Chinese cabbage Manufacturing by a manufacturer in Sapporo, and there is no point in applying it to most pickles that are fermented for a long time. * 9

The aims of such policies are noble, but there are countless cases where the implementation design has had a huge negative impact in other ways (the recent debate over the "1.03 million yen barrier" is one example). In addition, in the case of decarbonization, the image of renewable energy in general has been tarnished due to concerns about the destruction of landscapes and the risk of natural disasters caused by the construction of solar power plants in mountainous areas. I think that there are major issues regarding the improvement of the capabilities of policy makers, the thorough implementation of policy impact assessments, and the importance of Diet deliberations until bills are passed (as well as providing voters with clear and sufficient information to make a decision).

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＜Reference source＞

* 1) Environmental and Energy Saving Calculation Center, "Amendments to the Building Standards Act approaching April 2025 | Detailed explanation of 6 points of amendment,"February 10, 2025: https://www.ceec.jp/column/kenchikukizyunho-2025-04　

* 2) Logos Home, "What is the primary Energy consumption grade? Energy saving standards, types of energy saving houses, and even subsidies explained!", February 4, 2025: https://www.logoshome.jp/blog/house-performance/syouene-juutaku-toukyuu　

* 3) Environmental and Energy Saving Calculation Center, "What are the ZEH standards? A professional explains the types and conditions of ZEH, the benefits of obtaining it, and more!", January 21, 2023: https://www.ceec.jp/column/zeh-standard ;

* 4) Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, "Regarding the Act to Partially Amend the Act on Improvement of the Energy Consumption Performance of Buildings to Contribute to the Realization of a Carbon-Free Society (Act No. 69 of 2022),"December 26, 2024: https://www.mlit.go.jp/jutakukentiku/build/r4kaisei_shoenehou_kijunhou.html ;

* 5) ANDPAD, "An easy-to-understand explanation of the reduction of the No. 4 special provisions! What is the overview, changes, and impact of the 2025 legal reform?", February 28, 2025: https://andpad.jp/columns/0087 ;

* 6 ) Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, "Changes to the No. 4 Special Provisions from April 2025 (planned)," October 2023: https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001500388.pdf

* 7) Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Housing Bureau, "About Building Confirmation Procedures for Large-Scale Renovations of Wooden Detached Houses,"January 14, 2025: https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001766698.pdf

* 8) Japan Food Hygiene Association, "What is hygiene management using HACCP?": https://www.n-shokuei.jp/eisei/haccp_a.html ;

* 9) Asahi Shimbun, “A-Stories Pickle Crisis – Will rice accompaniments disappear?”, November 2022: https://www.asahi.com/rensai/list.html?id=1664