CHIKU-NEN

築年, ちくねん

• English definition: Year built

Real Estate Japan‘s word of the day for January 9, 2019

Good to know

• The Building Standards Law was amended in 1981 to introduce new standards for designing buildings for earthquake resistance. This amendment was introduced as a result of the devastating 1978 quake that struck Miyagi.
• If a building was built before June 1, 1981, it is called a kyu-taishin (旧耐震) building. “Kyu” (旧) means prior and “taishin” (耐震) means resistance.
• If a building was built after June 1, 1981, it is called a shin-taishin (新耐震) building. “Shin” means new.
• People looking to buy or rent a property in Japan are often advised to look for a building constructed to the 1981 shin-taishin standard.
• This is because damage from the M6.8 Great Hanshin Earthquake, provided strong evidence that buildings built to the 1981 shin-taishin standard survived the major quake in much greater numbers.
• Of course, compliance to the 1981 standard cannot guarantee that the building will not suffer damage or collapse in a major earthquake.
• The listings on Real Estate Japan will indicate the Year Built as a field in the property description, for both For Sale and For Rent listings.

For more information, please see: Earthquake building codes and technology in Japan

Yesterday’s word-of-the-day: kasai hoken – 火災保険 – fire insurance

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