The housing production system in Japan

019-T-3975/90$3.00 + 0.00 Pergamon Press plc

HAEITATINTL. Vol. 14, No. 213. pp 21-28.1990 Pnnted m Great Brttatn.

The Housing Production in Japan

System

YOSHIKAZU FUJISAWA Shibaura Institute of Technology,

Tokyo, Japan

The use of ‘wooden housing’ in Japan is very important to the understanding of housing production in the country. This paper discusses the changes in the housing production system and its future, with emphasis on the wooden housing production system. The wooden housing production system is called the conventional construction system and is the most popular technical system in Japan. The system allows both individual carpenters and large-scale house builders to supply houses. In other words, both master carpenters or small-scale housing shops, and largescale house builders or developers exist in this market. Of the total existing housing stock (1988 housing statistic survey, 5% sampling), 73.1% of 37,454,OOOhouses are wooden (including fireproof wooden houses). As for new construction (1988 housing construction survey), 41.1% of 1,684,644 new houses are wooden. Thus, wooden housing is slowly decreasing as a proportion of new construction, but still occupies a large share in housing. While demand in large cities concentrates on non-wooden apartment houses, wooden houses have a solid position in local areas. Desire to obtain wooden houses is persistent, and social/environmental/site conditions are conducive to the construction of wooden houses.

FEAT~ES

OF HOUSING PRODUCTION

Short renewaI cycle of housing

The housing stock of Japan is short in average service years and quick in reduction of capital value when seen from an international viewpoint. Of the configuration of wealth of Japan (net national assets), housing stock is only 6.8% or 174 billion-Yen (compared, for example, to 43% in England). This, together with the abnormalIy high share of land value, which occupies two-thirds or 64.3% of the national wealth, shows the typical situation which exists in Japan (Fig. 1). Japanese housing starts (flows) are higher in comparison with the housing stocks (Fig. 2). Therefore, the renewal cycle of housing is shorter by simplified housing statistics (stocks/flows ratio), while the empty house ratio of 9.4% (1988 housing statistics survey) indicates that a sufficient number of housing units exists (Fig, 3). 21

22

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1 I Net external assets

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France (1979)

UK ( 1975)

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FQ. I. Comparison of composrtlon

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of nar~onal wealth.

Stcck with occu~nt/total

Ptcus~ngstarts (1988)

Frg 2. Rnrro of flow ro holtsrng stocks.

0 94 <<092 091

<<090

090<<089 089

CC087

StCCk with

hg

occupant/total

3 Ram of occupanrs ro total housing stocks.

twsiq

stocks (1988;

23

The Housing Productton Svstem in Japan

The kvel is quite low in terms of floor area and &her quality aspects, Due to the

quick renewal cycle, there are regional differences in the type of demand. Especially, the type of demand differs greatly between the urban zone in and around Tokyo and local areas. This is seen in the housing types. Such differences are apparent in wooden vs non-wooden housing, owned KS rented houses, apartment vs individual house, conventional vs prefabricated housing, as well as the scale, appearance and planning of a house (Figs 4-6). Social conditions, weather and climate, and regional resources also exert an influence on the type of demand (Fig. 7). Extreme fluctuation

of demand/supply

Housing production has experienced three big waves since the Second World War (Fig. 8). This kind of fluctuation in demand and supply has brought big changes In the production system and industrial structure. As a result, aiming at economy of volume, market diversification and housing production system diversification have been taking place.

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1988:

Rg i Housmg start.y of muttiple-untt dwelltngs.

CHANGES AND DIVERSITY OF THE PRODUCTION SYSTEM Changes in technology and processes

The introduction of housing finance capital after the Second World War made it easier to obtain houses and increased demand. After that, in order to respond to the rapid increase in demand. materials industries for new building materials, parts and housing facilities and equipment were established. At the construction sites, upgrading of efficiency and industrialisation of building using power toois took place. Thus, through enhanced relations with related industries, including development of a distribution network and information network, industrialisation in the housing field was promoted. In this way, the society of housing industries allows the co-existence of various entities within it. While commercialised houses compete, many diverse and distinct house types and models are developed, the result being that the time span in which any one model appears on the market is growing shorter and shorter.

The Howng

25

Productton System m Japan

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houses per housing starts

iunk-

Avera@ area per urut (M-

Fig. 6. Housing starts of prefabricated

1988:

1988

houses. Simple

Mcden v5 fian-w&n ( G, prefabrlcotedl

vs multiple

( ,?WZ prefabrlcoted 1

Fig. 7. The change in housmg start camp

Changes in industrial structure (work structure) In the industrial structure, application of software is in progress. And, as the housing production organisations increase in size, they come to provide the upstream of the process, namely commercialisation strategy and sales strategy, while leaving the actual production to external organisations (Figs 9 and 10).

Fp. 8. The change m hudd~np mzd housrng starts

‘.4&i&n

bukd,nq wntmctor

CIVA on3 arch cmsultont

60

63

66

‘69

72

‘75

‘78

‘81

‘56

Frg Y The change tn hzts~ness eszublzs/z~ne~~fs on Hvoden hoctsmg.

REASONS FOR CO-EXISTENCE OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND EXISTENCE OF SMALL-SCALE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Diverse demand/supply relations have dissolved the market and allow the coexistence of various systems for receiving individual orders, and full turn-key systems by large-scale organisations. In this situation, however, the market share of small-scale production systems (carpenters and housing shops) is still approx. 30% of the whole, and approx. 80% in relation to wooden housing (Fig. 11). It is a general understanding that, in the industrialised society of today, smallscale production systems like carpenters and housing shops are pre-modern styles which exist transitionally in the move from traditional society to industrialised society, and will disappear sooner or later when industrialisation progresses sufficiently, replacing their tools and skills with machines and technology. However, local small-scale production is still superior to other production methods, in that small-scale production in local areas itself forms the basis of conformity to local environment and low-cost performance, as well as its side aspect that it is integrated with local culture. The features of small-scale production are given below. (1) The original values of small-scale production (response to individual needs, handicraft-like value, conformity to local area, contribution to local economy. etc.) can be distinguished from (or differentiate themselves from)

The Housing

Productton

27

SVstein in Japan

Cw11and bulldw?g cantractcf

CIVIL and buldlng contractor

vcs=

L Wooden bulldIng contmctor

WCX&IT bulldIng controctcr

EmpLoyed populotlon

Business establishment

General-

General - ccntmctcr

Fig. 10. The change m business establishments

and population

employed

cantratw

on wooden housing.

I Dwct

4 monagement_~n Geneml ccntmct

I;==-i=&~ 5-30

Generalcontractor

lntfc&.tzt~On Sutwrban saLeswson town

3QCaJ

5 Reglcnal builder (carperter shop type) 6 Reqcvwl tulder (Lumber shc~ type)

ExhlbtKn salespersofl

Prefecture city

200

8 Reg~ct-ul bulder (media type) 1

I

9 kbtomal tulde’ tulEsmk?r

H H

____

a

1,030 3

Fig. I I. Pattern of conventional

Materials au-dports maker

ExhIbIton NotHxal sa1espem.n

wooden housing orgamsation

5

Yoshikazu Fujsawa

28

Bukdinq type Sfrrple

Multfple

Loco: Surder

. __..-_ Ncn-uocden PrefaWtmted -I--+ 14 5%

Prefabmated I4 3%

Fig. 12. Market share of wooden housrng

large-scale production. That is, their values are different from values which may be realised by scale economy affected by diffusion of technology and management strategy of large-scale production. (2) It makes available independent activities which do not belong to organisations. The core means of production is the mastery of skills arising from manual labour and experience, so that capital and organisational structure are comparatively insignificant, and these factors allow systems for training talent, such as new entry and spin-off, to exist in it. (3) It takes care of on-the-spot field work as the final process of housing production. The importance of this increases as the fie‘ld of response towards individual demands widens, and highly sophisticated skills and ability for quick response come into demand. In reality it is the regionally dispersed small-scale productions that are capable of supposing this demand, and at present there is no other choice for the large-scale production but to remain dependent on this. (4) The type of technology and component materials to be used are left open. A network linking technology responding to the regional products and component materials has been organised and has established itself into society. Realistically speaking, when considering restructuring of the production system, such existing conventional systems have great influence, and moreover any efficient production system must in some way be based upon these existing conventional systems. (5) Field operations are administered through a mobile unification of ‘unit processes’. The formative process is a synthesis of various technological elements. In small-scale production these elements are unified and do not require any costs or organisational structure to decompose and synthesise them. That is what forms the market barriers and maintains competition. (6) Small-scale production has within itself the intrinsic character capable of heightening its own degree of diversity. That is, response towards differing motives based on diverse values, rather than the imitation or following of competitors’ products, as found in large-scale production. What must be done is to find our true r&on d’&tre in a system where the process of fulfilling and creating the contents of demand can be shared, keeping in close contact with regional demands, as well as responding to diversity.