Transcript
Speaker: Older houses are more like sticks, like a column structure and beams, right? Ramen, that's it's called. So the new houses, what they've improved for the earthquakes, they have share forces. So then on the columns, you're putting plywood. And because of that plywood, the building can withstand these earthquakes.
Speaker: And all buildings from the 60s have a layer of plywood on it. And what happens is in these earthquakes, yes, your building will shake, yes, it's wood. And if it's really strong, it will settle in a way that you don't want your house to settle. But you can walk out.
Speaker: It's not that they collapse. And if you see the Ramen Kozo. Yeah, ramen means framework, not the food. Oh, because That would be sticks if it's not that strong.
Speaker: Welcome to the buying a house in Japan podcast. Today, we have a return guest, one of our most requested guests, actually, Kun Klinkers. He is an architect from front office.
Speaker: We will be discussing the up and coming, or actually maybe they're here, 2025 building standard law revision codes in Japan. But before so, Kun, do you mind giving us a quick intro of yourself?
Speaker: Very nice to be back. and I'm happy to hear that I've been requested. and so happy to hear that people have been watching and actually been listening to what I say. it doesn't always happen in my own home. So happily to hear that I have an audience. I'm an architect. ah The architect's rovers I work with is a front office Tokyo.
Speaker: I have a Canadian partner, Bill Galloway. I think he has also been on the podcast. In general, we've been doing pre-selling houses here in Tokyo. done a few offices and a few bigger buildings. Happy to be here and give my review on on Japan architecture and real estate.
Speaker: Were you guys working on the expo? Is that now or coming up? That's opening on Sunday. We were the local architects and I did that together with another Dutch architect who is actually licensed. So let me say as well, I am not licensed in Japan. I have a license from the Netherlands. But luckily, one of my friends has a Japanese architecture license.
Speaker: So we teamed up with him and through our network, we were able to get Spain. So we were the local architect for the Spanish pavilion. Then we became local architects for the Czech pavilion and to add it on, we did the Malta pavilion as well. and I recommend everybody from coming Sunday, April 13th.
Speaker: And it's for six months only. So if you do want to see the expo in Japan, you have to have it. Isn't it a nice break for architects to try to do something really different from the normal work that you normally do? Like it's a fun side project? Correct. So it's a fun side project in the sense that you're allowed to be a bit more creative and then you have to deal, of course, with the exhibition. And I think the biggest part always is budget.
Speaker: So you can have great ideas. right But yeah, can you get them built? And the thing that I would say coming from an environmental perspective, these buildings are built only for six months. So, like for the Czech pavilion, they will try to disassemble and actually bring it back to the Czech Republic.
Speaker: Spain is trying to do the same, so I think that's very laudable, that's very very very great, basically. um But a lot of the buildings, I'm afraid, will be built for six months and then they tear them down. So it's a bit wasteful and I think as a World Expo and given where we are in the state of the world, the planet, I should say, they should be looking more into making it sustainable.
Speaker: Speaking about so sustainable, let's get to the meat of it here. Let's talk about the new April 2025 building standard law of revision. We've had a ton of people reach out on like, hey, is this going to affect me? And, you know, do you mind giving this so high level overview of this law? I must say, I only read the articles as well. So the high level overview would be that they're going to be more strict on existing buildings going forward from April 2025. The way I've been working always when you have an older building,
Speaker: and you change the interior, it's just fine. You don't need to get a building permit. So you can just work on it. A lot of the renovations we've done, not in Akia, but in concrete buildings where we basically rip out interiors and rebuilt it.
Speaker: Again, if you just comply with the fire safety laws and you do all the plumbing and everything correctly, because also mostly you're in a mansion building, so do you have neighbors, then basically you didn't even need a permit.
Speaker: So it was always a very good business for us as foreign architects, but not an architectural license in Japan to be able to do these larger renovations. In the Akiyama Mart, it seems more people want to renovate and have an existing structure.
Speaker: In a lot of cases, people buy these houses and because of planning laws, let's say your access road is less than two meters and you have a driveway, it's it's called a flagpole piece of land. So the pole and your land is the flag.
Speaker: They were not able to rebuild. because the entranceway is less than two meters. But hey, they wanted a new house. They didn't want an akiha, they didn't want old house. So we talked with the structure engineer and he literally told us once, if you leave 10 columns of that existing house, you don't make that house larger than the existing house. So you stay within the envelope.
Speaker: So if it's a two-story, you rebuild a two-story. You might add a little bit, maybe. You can tear down a house till you've got 10 sticks, columns left, and then rebuild. And I thought it was a great concept, like, this is Japan. Okay, you're hand-in because the planning laws don't allow you, but you can literally rebuild it.
Speaker: Now, you still have narrow entranceway, at least you've got a new house. I think you mentioned that before, just to clarify, that's like you haven't built a brand new house. This is a renovation still, even though you've torn everything down except for those 10 sticks, right? Exactly. And it also means you can just do that without getting a building permit because basically you're renovating and existing house.
Speaker: So nowadays, fire regulation will say we have to have a fireproof material on the outside. Now, this is mostly for Tokyo and inner cities. Once you're five meters away from your border, the land, the lot, then your house doesn't have to be fireproof.
Speaker: So most houses in the countryside, you can just put wood on the outside and whatever you want because you don't have neighbors next to you. But in Tokyo, you know the houses are close together, have to have fireproof material.
Speaker: However, when you're doing this renovation, you don't have to do that. You can just put wood back because, hey, you're renovating an old house. and and and The way I understand it, that will be more difficult.
Speaker: So like very simply, you're supposed to now get permits if you are doing ah bigger renovation is the the high level, right? yeah Yeah. I think if you still go in and do your bathroom or rip out some walls, of course, you know, when you rip out walls, be careful of the earthquake resistance. I think the way we see it in Japan, the government is quite nimble, is quite small.
Speaker: So all these departments that do the permitting, they're quite overworked. So they don't have time to check on Mr. Joey coming in and ripping out and redoing my bathroom.
Speaker: yes me Yeah. it took So I think in a lot of cases, it's pretty mild. Now the Akiyas that I've seen and that you've been working on, some of them are a bit more in an urban setting. So yeah, then neighbors, your neighbors might complain, and you might have somebody knocking on the door. But again, the but Japanese laws is always very interesting. They're very strict, but then how are they going to enforce them? And then you see that the enforcement is very weak. So in that sense, I think we'll have a grace period of a few years where people are adjusting. But again, the advice if you have this two-story building and suddenly you're building a three-story building back, somebody might knock on your door and say, look, hey, what have you been doing? right
Speaker: I just want to read out actually some of the notes I took. And for any listeners, I'll put a link to the article. But high level, the 2025 building standard law revision, need for a but building permit, especially any two-story wooden house, which is pretty much like every Akia I feel like we've gotten. You now basically need to get permits. And it sounds like the penalties, if I'm reading this correctly, is up to one year of imprisonment or fine up to 1 million yen a year.
Speaker: One million in is cheap though, actually, to just like ignore it and and pay the fine. $6,000 US. Kuna, I'm curious if you have an experience here getting permits, because like in my mind, you just get the permit. like There's a lot of people I feel like getting emotional on different social media out there in the Akia community talking about this. But in my mind, I'm probably not going to do too much DIY. I'm going to find a contractor. And I'm like, well I'll just get the contractor to apply for the permits on my behalf. And you know Japanese bureaucracy, usually pretty efficient.
Speaker: Am I being naive in your mind? So I was talking earlier that I don't have a Japanese architectural license. That's called an IKU, which is basically you went to a university or a school and you did an exam and then you have your first class architectural license.
Speaker: And that means you can actually build any building because we don't have that the knowledge to do that. Now, there are lot of carpenters in Japan because guess what? A lot of wooden houses. The carpenters basically are the NICU. They're the second class architects. Now, trust me, they're a lot better than me. So first and second doesn't mean anything.
Speaker: I have much more knowledge than me on building a house. But the second class architecture is interesting because up to a two-story building, these guys could just take their truck, take a bunch of wood, erect a two-story house, and because they're in NICU, no paperwork.
Speaker: Of course, the paperwork you have to do is, I want to build this house and I file it, but it's very simple paperwork. And then these guys could do it. Now, we work a lot in the urban environment. So our clients, they bought a tiny lot, and then they want the max out of it. So we have to go to three stories.
Speaker: So guess what? Then you need an EQ, and then you need a structural engineer. So to me, it looks this law is trying to catch that gap between EQ carpenters and then the housemakers.
Speaker: because what the housemakers have been doing, ah housemaker, just to explain, is a company that built houses, 6-3 Home, Panasonic Home, Daiwa House, all these kinds of companies. They basically built two-story houses everywhere because the permitting process is very simple for them.
Speaker: and I had a slight feeling this law is there for them. And again, the market will open up towards renovations. And what the Japanese government is trying to do is to have a tool that they can require those renovated properties to be more like new standards for fire safety, for hazard reasons, basically.
Speaker: I think if you're buying an Akiya somewhere in the countryside and you're spending the money and you're not turning it into a three-story building, yes, you can ask your local contractor or go to the department and say, what papers do I need to fill out?
Speaker: And again, it's daunting because it's all in Japanese, but it's not rocket science. I think we can all relax a bit. Oh, i was on the other side I was very much on the other side. they Like here in the United States, like I do not want to pull an electrical permit to get an outlet outside. you know and And it's been such a pain. If your renovation is a larger scale renovation where you really want to rebuild rooms and add stuff on your property, then yes, by all means, hire an architect.
Speaker: Again, I preach for my own church, but if it's more or less my bathroom, my living room, put in a new flooring, get some electrical wiring up to date, I would just say, talk to the contractor and say, can you talk to City Hall? And then see see what comes back.
Speaker: It's interesting. I thought this was really aimed at akiya specific, but you think it's more on the home builder side is why Japan's putting this through? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, just to be honest, a lot of these akiyas are dilapidated. They are not optico. So it's it's also like for your own safety, just don't go into a building and say, let's buy this. And so again, I think last time as well, I talked about the ants.
Speaker: So the newer buildings, when we build The ground beam it's called it gets painted with an anti-ant paint so it doesn't get nibbled away. When you see a new construction, the columns at the base will always have a bit of an orangey color.
Speaker: That's basically against the termites. But your older building was built 50-60 years ago and it's built by the uncle of whatever the guy who was living there. and They didn't do that. So you would have to check the safety or at least go in there with an open mind that some of your beams may be rotten.
Speaker: Many of our clients are the DIY inclined people. They see these homes in Japan, maybe they've renovated or done a little bit of work in their home country, and they're hoping to do something like that. But it sounds like the way this conversation is going, it depends on how much they're trying to renovate in Japan. If they're trying to add an extra room onto the structure or something quite obvious, then yeah, you're probably going need to follow these plans. But if you're just remodeling your bathroom, for example, it's gray zone, but probably you can get away with it is is what it sounds like.
Speaker: Exactly. Bringing up the bathroom is actually a good one because a lot of the bathrooms will be unit bath, and that's also your most moist part of the house. So the bathroom can be a bit grotty after 40 years. So the thing to do is take that bathroom out, they literally disassemble it, take the ceiling out. Because what you will then see is your wooden structure. And because that was the most humid part of your structure, you can see your columns, and then you can see if there's any damage to those columns.
Speaker: And then, of course, on the outside, of any damp spots, you should also be checking Most buses from the inside, because it's been easiest to repair if there's anything wrong with the columns. So yeah, I wouldn't worry if you're even your unit bathroom literally is what it is, unit bathroom, then you order a new one.
Speaker: ah They just put it up in a day. In our experience working with contractors in Japan, I don't think any of these guys are going to be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, we need to get a permit for this. I think they're just going to do the work as well. like If you are a listener and you're concerned about this, like probably you're going to have to push for it. Again, it doesn't seem like you you need to push for it, but in my experience, the Japanese context is they're probably not even going to bother. They might not even be aware of it.
Speaker: And so so a part of the law as well were the energy efficiency laws, which up till now were kind of voluntarily. You could follow them or you could pay the money. So I recently did do a house with a housemaker.
Speaker: It was actually with another Dutch friend, and he's of course kind of invested in that house. and The housemaker asked us as well, do you want this? It's another, i don't know, a few hundred thousand yen to get this energy efficiency calculation.
Speaker: and said, do we need it? Is it by law? I said, no. and Okay, we don't need it. I mean, and I'm an environmental guy, so it was like, but yeah, I can see that I don't need to spend the extra money. So I think those things might be getting a bit more incorporated that they become more compulsory. So I think it really is aimed at the housemaker industry that for new construction will also start focusing on renovations and then they want them to be more up to date. But it's also like in the opposite way, being able to regulate them.
Speaker: Were the housemakers pushing this, you think? do you think the Sekisui and Daiwa were like, we want to cut out the carpenters. Like, we want that. We want the renovation business. So they're like making it more difficult for carpenters? I don't think so. I think in in general, over the years, what I've seen in the past 25 years is that Japan is slowly catching up.
Speaker: Rules are getting a bit more tighter and stricter. Like, you see all these developments. Japan has a beautiful coastline. And then at one point, there's some eyesore of a building, you know. whoever got permission to build a hotel on this beautiful shore.
Speaker: So I've also been involved in Shimoda. And when you go in there and say, oh, look, my client bought this piece of land. Can we build like five cabins in the woods kind of? And they go like, oh, no. And then they explain you the law and you go OK, after the big tsunami, most of the coastlines have been protected. So you're not allowed to build anymore because they're defense kind of. Or if you want to build, you need a flat piece of land of a thousand square meters, and then you can build.
Speaker: That doesn't exist anywhere because you would have to slice off a helltop to do that. So basically, done all construction that used to happen here and there is almost forbidden. you know But 40 years ago, it wasn't. So yeah, we still these eyesores.
Speaker: But it's getting quite difficult to do that going forward. So Japan is not a free for all. There are rules. Like I said, it's fire safety or smoke safety that they're really strict about. But it looks like they're trying to control more of the built environment, which I think is a good thing.
Speaker: But can they enforce it? Yeah. Do you feel like neighbors would rat out other neighbors in Japan? Our neighbors like us. I think that's... i feel like we have good relationships with all our neighbors thus far. So as a advice to all the Akiya buyers, I think if you're friendly to them, they'll be friendly to you and they like to know what's going on. Because these people have lived there for 40 years and they knew those neighbors in that Akiya for the past 40 years.
Speaker: And then some foreign people show up. So the the politest thing you can do is buy some chocolates and go to the neighbor and say hi. And they don't speak English, so the conversation will end in two minutes.
Speaker: But at least you've shown your face and said hi, and then they are less afraid of you because they don't know what you're going to do because you're a scary foreigner that will, I don't know. Yeah, a lot of unknowns. Yeah, a lot of unknowns for them. And they know that village. They live there. So you're the you're the unknown factor.
Speaker: And that sense is more like, yeah, be nice to your neighbors. And in general, I think people are nice in Japan and they will welcome you and say, yeah, yeah, yeah, please, you know. Do you think neighbors have been into neighbors houses? Like, do you think our neighbors and all our Akiyas have like seen what it looked like before? I'm just curious. Like, is that a normal thing to be like, hey, come on over and let me show you my house?
Speaker: No, I think so. All these Japanese houses look the same. Sorry to say it's been here too long. So they know what your house looks like. They probably have been over. um There was always the old neighbor that doesn't get along with any of the neighbors. So that's the one you maybe don't want to invite.
Speaker: Here's the story. So we did a house in Kyose. This was one of our returning clients, luckily. And then in Japan, there's somebody called Chou Naikai, which is the neighborhood association. They're quite at the, you pay a bit of money.
Speaker: They organize the summer festival with the local temple and and then you can go there and it's very nicely done. So we had done this house and at one point, apparently the Chou Naikai, tonic i and all older ladies, they showed up and the contractor was there.
Speaker: And of course, he wasn't aware of what was being done, but he let them in. So all these old ladies got to see this house. And of course, it was totally renovated. We we gutted the place and it made it more open the way we do it front office.
Speaker: And um yeah, they were very impressed. And of course, our client heard that later. They were inside? Why? Well, I mean, politics everywhere. So even with older ladies that want to see your house, but I think there's nothing wrong.
Speaker: Cause again, ah you're the foreigner in the neighborhood, most likely the first foreigner in that village, most likely. You just bought a house. You're redoing it for three months and they're all curious. No permits.
Speaker: The permits, well, permits, again, i'm just kidding. but But again, curiosity is a human thing. So, hey, have that barbecue garden party. Nobody might show up, but at least you offered it.
Speaker: Pizza party, Joey. It's coming. are we've been we We have a sweet table. can we'll get We'll shoot an invite to our pizza party in Beppe. You could definitely come down. It'll be an average age 75, I'd say, of our neighborhood.
Speaker: Hopefully they can eat pizza. So the 2025 building standard law revision, the law we're talking about now, just to tie this back into earthquakes, I hear a lot of talk about the law in the year 2000 about earthquakes and then the 1981 laws.
Speaker: Would you live in a house in Japan that was built pre-1981? Do you actually think it's safe is my real question here. I i am not sure how to think about this. The mansion I'm in right now was built in 1978. So I am pre-1981. So those buildings are safe because they did survive for the 1996 COVID earthquake. They survived the 2011 earthquake.
Speaker: This particular building was built by Shimizu, so i'm I'm more happy to be in that. You can do an assessment. So somebody will come and check the drawings and then write an assessment that says, yes, this building is safe or build according to code so that you can use towards your bank.
Speaker: Older Japanese houses, again, check for the termites and then it should be fine or put some extra wood in. Japanese houses tend to be small rooms, but that's an outcome of the wood structure.
Speaker: So when you start ripping out of those columns, it gets more dangerous. You have a structure engineer look at it and I ripping out a column, you can just catch it by putting in a beam and then that beam has to stand on new columns. And so if you connect them, the carpenter will know exactly how to ameliorate all of that.
Speaker: So are building safe in ja Japan? Yes. I mean, the 2011 earthquake and then a tsunami buildings didn't get destroyed in the earthquake. They got destroyed by the tsunami. to give you the the effect of that one.
Speaker: 33 million people, Tokyo gets hit by the biggest earthquake in 100 years, and two people died, unfortunately. But two people died because the ceiling dropped out. So to all the DUI guys, Japanese carpenters use a lot more screws.
Speaker: ah so So what I'm trying to say is everything is done in a much more proper way because everything will start shaking. so you don't want that lowered ceiling to drop on your head.
Speaker: So those are things to keep in mind. Japan is very much about safety. These older buildings, when they collapse, they kill people. Japanese government is different than a US government in LA. in the European context or in American context with homeowners associations that are really concerned about how it looks, right? I mean, your building could fall apart, but it has to look and your lawn has to be clean.
Speaker: Europe, we have the same cityscapes that one of women look the same. Japan is opposite. Japan is a harsh country. We got the earthquake, we got the tsunamis, we got the typhoons, some parts, we got snow, landslides. So they don't care about the beautification of a street or a neighborhood or a city.
Speaker: It's about safety. So earthquake safety, fire safety. Once you comply with those, you're fine. And so what happens is that when there are big earthquakes, the amount of damage given the size of the earthquake is limited because the rules are so strong.
Speaker: So like if you're buying an older, let's say wooden home built in the 1960s, if it has a bunch of termite damage, yeah, it's probably gonna be more dangerous. Or if you start ripping down walls and those cross bracings, it's gonna be more dangerous. But in general, maybe I fear mongered myself up just by doing all this reading.
Speaker: There was like text me late night like, a man, or how are we gonna say I'm like 70% collapse. like We got to ask you about this next time.
Speaker: Older houses are more like sticks, like a column structure and beams, right? Ramen, also it's called. So the new houses, what they've improved for the earthquakes, they have sheer forces. So then on the columns, you're putting plywood. And because of that plywood, the building can withstand these earthquakes.
Speaker: And all buildings from the 60s have a layer of plywood on it. And what happens is in this earthquake, yes, your building will shake, yes, it's wood. And if it's really strong, it will settle in a way that you don't want your house to settle, but you can walk out.
Speaker: It's not that they collapse. And if you see the pictures... Ramen Kozo. like that. Yeah, ramen. Ramen means framework, not the food. Oh, okay. That would be sticks if it's not that strong.
Speaker: So can you live again in that house? No. Did you survive that strong earthquake? Yes, basically. So, yes. So when you see these pictures of collapsed temples, it's because of their tiled roof.
Speaker: And so the tiles are so heavy that when it gets hit by an earthquake, it gets this swing. And then it's the weight of the tiles that basically makes the columns crack. And all these buildings, you see they have twisted. It's not that they go let down like a bunch of bricks.
Speaker: The building will have twisted and then you see all these beautiful roof tiles all over the place. And so that's why you see that your modern houses, although they look like tiles, it's actually metal.
Speaker: They're fake. They're a very lightweight metal. They made them look like tile. Oh, really? and then In the countryside, when people spend the money, then they have real kawara, then they have real tiles on the roof still. But a lot of the 60s, 70s houses, the tiles are actually metal.
Speaker: So you said you could hire an inspector to come check us out and get an evaluation. Is that like a specialized person or you know what's the Japanese term for that if you know it? I forgot the term. So i got a mortgage on this building and they were saying, get somebody ready to check it. So you hire, basically that but person is an architect.
Speaker: And it will come and then check the drawings and say it meets certain standards and it it's fine and it's safe. Or it's built according to what he can see. So it's still more like a hearing. You wouldn't do a calculation or anything. And that's your simple version. It costs you, I don't know, 50, 60,000 yen or something.
Speaker: And then the other one you can do, but that's only for like larger office buildings. That's called an engineering report. And that basically will mean three, four people will walk through the building, take pictures of everything.
Speaker: They actually make a CapEx plan, so capital expenditure plan. So you only do that for opposites or commercial buildings where the bank wants to assess the state of the current building. And in that assessment, they check the code.
Speaker: So if your building is going to code, they check the fire code, and that will set you back a million yen. So that's absolutely not worth it for a fine for for getting penalized for not following this code.
Speaker: yeah Yeah, exactly. Pay it then. And if if you ever get finalized, but again, you're a small lucky Again, I know people want to buy a Neocon and then they want to do it up, but then be careful, right? Then you're doing a hotel business, so then you're you're endangering guests and then the health and safety department will come and have a look.
Speaker: And then, yeah, you'd better be up to code because you're running a commercial business. But then for your own house, I wouldn't be too worried. But again, this is me and I haven't done a new thing yet. But in general, I think we can all keep buying and keep renovating.
Speaker: Question for Joey. Joey, you think Sato-san did a good job with our earthquake renovation stuff? where we We had a lot of ah trouble with our first contractor, Sato-san, a carpenter, but he has a lot of- not architect either. He's probably just like a daiku. Probably no license, if I had to guess. But anyways, Meen Takit tore down a wall.
Speaker: And it had the cross bracing. And we're like, what is this? We didn't know what it was. We're like, what is this? We ripped it out. Yeah, we ripped that out. And then he's the one that told us, he's like, no, no, that was some earthquake stuff. But he's like, but it's all okay. I'm going to put up earthquake drywall, like seco bordo.
Speaker: And I was like, okay, I don't know. I guess at that point, I still believed him. does This is before I learned about all the problems in his personal life. Is there such a thing as like earthquake seco bordo drywall? Yeah, yeah, correct. So it's basically, you have normal drywall, which is, and yeah, you touch it, you can just yeah take a chunk off of it.
Speaker: And then you have harder, more structural. And then we just use it in the Czech pavilion. So as well, okay they had to make holes, sleeves, basically, to put piping through, but it's a CLT building. And some of those sleeves were calculated because we knew we we were going to have piping and some were not.
Speaker: And this is a five-story wooden building, which is already extraordinary because wooden buildings normally only go up to three stories. And so big thing like, okay, how do we reinforce this? Now, one option was to make metal boxes and put them into the CLT and then they'd catch the forces. But then it cost money and there were actually quite a few of them.
Speaker: And then hold on, the engineer said, just put the structural plasterboard against it. So it's going to be a bit thicker. It's for shear force. So yeah, if you hit it with your fist, you know, freestanding even 21 millimeter, probably hit it with your fist or with your foot in this case, we can probably break it. But the rocking once you apply it to a wall, it creates that shear wall function. Then it functions what it functions for. So normally normal nine millimetre ah the plasterboard wouldn't be able to do that. Where your screws are, they just ripped apart.
Speaker: Then they have thicker and it's probably more dense. And that's more heavy and more expensive. So you wouldn't apply that everywhere. But he probably did parallel to where you took the cross spacing away.
Speaker: probably the two parallel walls, he then did the plasterboard. And then basically in that direction, you have the same strength. Well, that's good news. ah So in some cases, maybe some limited snares, if it's done in the right way, it could replace or at least mitigate some of the the losses and structural integrity that we suffered from getting rid of those cross spacings.
Speaker: Right. But you also have to see like, you know, if you had one room, let's say it's a six-satami and you turn it into two six-satami rooms, then you have to see that, yeah, those end walls are going to take the forces.
Speaker: And before there was a wall in between, right? So I'm not sure we're making it worse now or more safe for you. I'm not sure. Maybe we get the earthquake inspector, even if it's a waste of money. You're having a small house there, so i I wouldn't worry too much. And again, it's not that your house is going to collapse in the next earthquake. It's just that when it hits in the right way, your house will settle in a funny way, which then makes it.
Speaker: I want to switch gears. I'm putting the Akiomart buyer hat on here. I think they're they're probably thinking, you know, a couple questions. I guess first off, let's assume the contractor they work with or they want to DIY it and they want to go through this process. They want to do the permitting.
Speaker: How much more work or how much longer would it take to get through this bureaucratic approval process? You will need to have some drawings made that shows the changes that you're doing. They can be quite simple. If you have the existing drawings, you could do them in a PDF and maybe outline.
Speaker: If you're doing bigger works, then anyway, it would be better to have an architect or somebody draw up a plan. And then it's a question of paperwork saying who is applying, who's the client. So the local government office knows who's doing all of this.
Speaker: And depending on the amount of work, it might require a structural engineer depending on the type of building. But if we're doing two-story buildings and just renovations, I think the Nikkeu architect should be able to supply all those documents. I'd say the average person we help is probably buying like a 1980s prefab unit and then gutting the bathroom and then adding some fixtures and flooring. so Generally what I'm hearing, it you know as long as you pass it off to the NICU contractor, they should be able to handle it. it wouldn't be like a three month delay or or something like that. Right. Correct. Correct. so So it's basically it's going to be part of your planning process that they then incorporate it. now
Speaker: The other thing you can do, and this is where Japanese the local government is very good as well, you can do the consultation, sort the pre-consultation. So before you start filling out paperwork and then go there and they tell you it's not necessary, you can go there. If you're in Osaka or Tokyo, better to make an appointment because it's quite busy. But in the local, you can just walk into the local urban planning architecture department. There is a desk.
Speaker: You take your plan with you and you say, look, I'm going to do this and this and this. Bring somebody who speaks Japanese. i know That's always helpful. And then they look at the plans and then they might look at you and they go like, well, please go ahead.
Speaker: Right. And then you say, oh, 2025 law. And then even then they might say like, right So you can do a pre-consultation just to make sure you feel safe. But again Japanese laws take a longer time to get into effect. I think if you're not doing anything crazy, keep doing as we are.
Speaker: I'm not sure if I get into legal problem for this later on, but... No, I mean, Japan implants a lot of laws, but it's hard for them to really, like, no one's going to come check our Beppu house or unless our neighbors come and inspect, like, you guys took this beam down or something.
Speaker: Even then, it's hard to prove for them what you've actually done. Because everything is, again, plasterboarded up. But then if you explain them, how we use second bottle, like the construction. but ramen coza but Yeah, you throw in some words. Oh, these guys know what they're talking about.
Speaker: Reminds me a little bit of the I've been digging into Airbnb laws and sometimes I'm like, how could they ever enforce this? It's like if it's a school day and the the wind is blowing from the West, then you can't. It's like, how could they ever like report you for this kind of thing?
Speaker: Yeah, it's a benign environment to live. It sounds like this law is really not going to change anything, in your opinion, in the short term. Not in the short term, but then again, Japan is very reactive in a way. So the law is there. So now think that in the next year, Akiya will burn down with five tourists inside and unfortunately, someone dies, yeah then you will get a whole scrutiny on your buildings. I see. So the government now has a hand. he They kind of have like something out there to be like, hey you didn't listen to this piece of paper we put out a year ago.
Speaker: And find a scapegoat and then everybody gets penalized somehow. Yeah, correct. Or that then they will be more strict. And so this is how it happens. I mean, the construction industry is an evolving business. Like we're building differently from how we built 50 years ago.
Speaker: Now it's evolving because we have newer materials, different construction methods. You know, before people were just hammering with a hammer. Now you shoot nails basically, right? So are those nails good? How many nails do you have to shoot compared to when you're hammering a nail?
Speaker: but All that has to be developed. So it's a continuously developing business. 50 years ago, there were no Akiyas and now there are, right? So then the law is catching up in a way.
Speaker: I see it more as a process like that. Most laws are written for the big cities because that's where the most fire hazard is. In an earthquake, you have a fire hazard because there's gas or there's some other open fire. So all these laws are made. So let's say now developers in Tokyo are realizing that it's too expensive to build new houses. They then focus on these Akiyas or doesn't even Akiya, it's just you buy out an existing guy in his 60s house and then spruce it up by just quickly painting and then do nothing to improve the fire safety.
Speaker: In that case, now they have a law in hand and that they can actually tell them like you didn't do that according to the law. Sounds like the house we bought in Tokyo.
Speaker: We're learning. This is good to hear. And I understand a lot more from where the government perspective is coming from. I was really afraid it was targeted directly at Akia owners. But it seems like this is just kind of a broad thing. I'm curious, how is this like information cascaded? Like I saw an article, I heard people talk about it. Like, do they have like one central government office that sends this old architects and contractors? Or like, how do people know about this?
Speaker: So it's the Ministry Construction that comes up with these new laws and they will disseminate the information. So when we apply for building permits, we can either go to the local government or we can go to third parties because the local government is overextended. You can go to the third party.
Speaker: Now the third party has an information corner. It's all in Japanese and there's a lot of stuff. And laws change continuously. So they're being updated. So they put out a paper. That's how I get it. Or I talk to friends or like people from the US randomly call me and say, how about this new law?
Speaker: It's just which is great. And then secondly, the housemakers have the requirement to be up to date of the latest laws. So if they're selling houses to people or if they're selling renovated houses or people come to them and they want to renovate house, you as a business owner should know that.
Speaker: But it's, yeah, word of mouth or through newspapers and these kind of things. Overall sounds like good news, like keep calm, carry on kind of thing. Just ah you know don't be a jerk to your neighbors and funnel it through your contractors more or less is what I'm hearing.
Speaker: Exactly. i think I think your contractor should be able to handle the paperwork or at least send him to the local government office and and have him ask, please do this or don't do this. And then it's taken care of.
Speaker: A wildcard question for you. Joey and I are now going to build a new build in our Miyoko property. We're going to tear it down. We found an investor who's actually a podcast listener. who's going to go in with us. And we are working with SecchiCere Chemical to put a SecchiCere Heim building. but We are looking at a wood structure.
Speaker: Any advice for us as we embark on this journey? There's a wood versus steel frame that we do have the option for, but they're like, we can't gable the roof if it's steel frame. I'm just curious if you have any insight there. So I guess the steel, have to build a steel structure, but it would push downwards and and the walls have to get thicker.
Speaker: Yeah, steel is, how do I say? Better. Earthquake, yes, I think it would be better. Again, you don't have the termites. Of course, it can rust, but they're really well treated these days, so don't worry.
Speaker: From an environmental perspective, the steel building is easier to disassemble. So after a fifth year period, it can be disassembled and steel is easier to recycle. Wood, as we call it, a lot of these wooden buildings that get torn down, they get thermally recycled. Basically, they burn them. Thermally.
Speaker: So that's not recycling. So the steel one is better to recycle. The steel one probably comes with these plasticky kind of facades on them, which is in the wood one, they might do a rendered facade. I don't know. I don't know the finished materials, but you're dealing with six-three heim. So you're dealing with one of the top housemakers, and I think they'll do a perfect job.
Speaker: Good to hear. Top housemakers? Okay. They're very rigid with what they can and cannot do, though, it seems like. They've got a pattern and they stick to it. So correct. so So they built the same house all over Japan. So you think you get your nice little house, and but that's why all houses look the same. They're all built by these housemakers, right?
Speaker: And they're a system. So it's like buying a car. If you buy a car, it's not like I want now some nice features on this car. Yes, you can pick the color. You can pick the interior design. The same as with these houses, can pick the color of the house, the wallpaper inside. You only have three choices.
Speaker: Bathroom, everything is, yeah, fixtures, the things you touch, but that's easy. It just comes in later, nothing to do with the structure of the house. So literally, it's a system that's best comparable to buying a car.
Speaker: You're fitting out a house with a limited range of items. Interesting. I was just kind of thinking like, can we hire you to go in there and like push them to design things a little bit better? You think that's in ah a potential strategy?
Speaker: So what will happen is ah you should do it basically because they will take you to their showroom and within that showroom, you're going to spend two or three afternoons to go through all the items. So basically, okay here's your front door and they pull out a sample of a front door and they got 10 of them.
Speaker: You go, oh, okay, but I got a choice. They're all the same. Some are cheap or zero cost and some are extra cost. So they'll push you to the extra cost. Then you got the front doors, right? Then you go like, okay, what floor do you want? Then you got 10 choices of flooring.
Speaker: With the flooring comes wallpaper, then the cupboard doors, then the kitchen. So it's really smart because they do have a full fitted out kitchen because guess what? For the housewife, the normal thing important is the kitchen, right? And the bathroom.
Speaker: So they give you choices where you can have choices, but it's literally finishes. It's not about layout. It's not about size of the rooms. There is a certain leeway with some house makers, but no, it's the system. So they don't want you to touch the structure of the house, but everything that's added on, here you go, all your choice. The business model is if you want something special, yes, of course they can do it, but you have to pay.
Speaker: All right. We pushed them. We talked to them earlier this week. We're like, hey, can we go to high ceiling? Can we do this and that? And they're like, we'll come back in two weeks with a plan. I'm not holding my breath, but Kun, we'll send it over to you. See if they're like, hey, you think we could do anything with this? oh'll have a good We look forward to hosting you Beppu for that architectural review pizza party coming soon.
Speaker: We'll maybe try to bring you along to the Sekisui building planning session if you're available, but... that could Where can people find you? How do you want people to contact you if they're interested in your services? The best way is through the website. So frontoffistokyo.com.
Speaker: There's a mail us button if you're interested. interested And then you can see what we've done and actually if you actually want to work with us. Doing stuff is great, guys. I've checked out the website. It's fantastic. We look forward to working with you, hopefully, on one of our projects in the future. We'll put your stuff in the show notes. But thank you, Kun, again, for being our return guest and calming my fears about these new building code laws coming in.
Speaker: Happy to have done that.
Speaker: Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Buying a House in Japan. If you find the show helpful or at least entertaining, give us a five-star rating. Takes five seconds and really goes a long way. If you or someone you know is looking for a Japanese home, check out Akiyamart.com, our English-friendly site that lets you browse over half a million listings.
Speaker: That's A-K-I-Y-A-M-A-R-T.com to find your dream home in Japan. If you've got questions or feedback, drop us a line, email contact at akiyamart.com.
Speaker: You can also find us on Instagram as well as TikTok where we post properties, tips on the home buying process, and updates on our own purchases and renovations. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next week.
