Architectural forgery in Japan

"Structural Calculation Forgery Problem" (構造計算書偽造問題, kōzō keisansho gizō mondai) refers to a series of incidents, set off by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's November 17, 2005, announcement that structural engineer Hidetsugu Aneha of Aneha Architectural Design Office in Chiba Prefecture had falsified earthquake design calculations.

It is suggested that one of the causes for the problem was that the (privately owned) oversight agencies responsible for confirming compliance to Japanese safety standards did not detect the forgery.

Prior to 1999, oversight was managed solely by regional governments, however, a change made to Japanese law that year allowed private organizations to conduct investigations as well.

Of 14 hotels that had already been built under false pretenses when the problem first came to light, two of them were shown to fail Japan's earthquake resistance standards.

As the architect concerned in the matter has participated in the construction of a large number of buildings, the full extent of the problem is still unknown.