What's going on and how to help: Covid-19’s impact on Japanese construction companies.
Image credit: Adachi Kenchiku
What is happening in Japan during Covid-19
Picture credit to NHK: Ms. Koike, Tokyo governor
April 7th – Tokyo and other 6 prefectures in Japan announced state of emergency
April 17th - Japan Prime Minister Abe declared nationwide state of emergency.
The state of emergency will remain until May 6th as for now.
What is happening to Japanese construction industry during Covid-19?
March 17th – Some GCs (general contractors) started to work from home, for example: TODA, Fujita
April 13th – A Shimizu employee who contracted COVID-19 in Tokyo died. (refer to LINK)
April 13th – 20th
Many Japanese GCs and subcontractors announced closure of construction job sites:
Picture credit to Nikkei: Construction job site of Shimizu in Tokyo
Obayashi, Taisei, Kajima, Shimizu, TODA, Daiwa House, Fujita, Nishimura, Okumura, Tokyu made announcement of closure construction job sites as principle through May 6th or May 10th .
Kajima, which has about 700 construction sites across the country, said some projects may go ahead as usual if they are urgent.
Daiwa house has about 3500 construction sites.
What are the challenges for Japanese construction companies during Covid-19?
Financial:
Project delay will cost financial loss. GCs, owners and other stake holders will need to discuss and get agreement on how to cover these losses. Covid-19 could be counted as natural disaster.
Supply chain:
Starting from January 2020 when China locked down, construction material supplies became a challenge and have caused some delays.
Project management:
Many projects will need to be re-scheduled with closure of job sites, reduced crew members, and delay of material and equipment
Reference:
Japan Times https://www.japantimes.co.jp/
Kensetsu News: https://www.kensetsunews.com/archives/444116
Shimizu Corp. website: https://www.shimz.co.jp/
Nikkei XTech: https://xtech.nikkei.com/
BBC Japan: https://www.bbc.com/japanese/52308525