The Japanese economy and society have entered an age of structural change in recent years, making the response to deregulation and international harmonization an important issue in various regulatory schemes.
The experiences and lessons learned from the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake have prompted the Japanese public to reaffirm the importance of securing structural safety.
In government administration of building architecture and construction, there is strong demand to
ensure the effective application of construction-related regulations.
Since the amendment of the Building Standard Law, implementation in this direction has continued and led to the development of “ performance-based provisions” under the Law in the year 2000.
Building materials used in buildings and other structures in Japan must conform to quality requirements designated under the Building Standard Law, regardless of whether the product is domestic or foreign in origin.
For example, building materials designated under Article 37 of the Building Standard Law (Quality of Construction Materials) must conform to certain JIS or JAS standards or receive the approval of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
Conformity with these criteria or with the approval requirements must be determined by testing and evaluation based on relevant regulatory and quality standards.
The Japan Testing Center for Construction Materials (JTCCM) is a third-party organization which has been in operation for more than 50 years in Japan, specializing in quality performance testing, Ministerial approvals, certification under JIS and JAS, and approval of building materials as specified under the aforementioned provisions of the Building Standard Law.