While the rate of decline began to gradually ease, July’s total housing starts continued to trail year prior levels with an 11.3% decline to finish at 70,244 units. Owner-occupied housing declined 13.6% and rental housing fell 8.8%…. more
COFI’s market development team partnered with HOTERES magazine, which services the hotel and restaurant industry in Japan, to sponsor and participate in a series of hotel management seminars. With these seminars, we introduced the… more
In collaboration with the Japan 2×4 Home Builders Association, COFI continues development work on Nail laminated timber (NLT) assemblies. Aside from structural and fire-resistive considerations, floor vibration is another important… more
On July 29th, Canada Wood Japan-based staff held a Canadian Structural Wood Products Technical Workshop in Naha with a new local customer, Edge Co., Ltd., to introduce and promote the platform frame construction method and Canadian… more
In these challenging times of global pandemic and rising geopolitical tensions, it’s nice to come across a good news story that celebrates the friendship and bonds between nations. To wit, the Japanese Post Office has recently issued a… more
June 2020 Japan Housing Starts
Recessionary pressures and the Covid 19 pandemic weighed heavily on construction activity. June total housing starts fell 12.7% year over year to finish at 71,101 units. Owner occupied housing declined… more
May total housing starts continued to trail year prior results, falling 12.3% to finish at 63,683 units. Owner occupied housing declined 20.7% and rental housing fell 8.1%. Wooden housing fell 15.6% to 35,632 units. Post and beam starts… more
As a result of a multi-year market access initiative aimed at opening the Japanese market up for nail-laminated timber (NLT), COFI recently received certificates from MLIT* for the quasi-fire resistive structure approvals. The approvals… more
With its environmentally friendly and economical design, the Muratakai Shonan Oba Hospital recently opened on July 1, 2020. The hospital is located 50 km southwest of Tokyo in Fujisawa City in Kanagawa Prefecture. It is one of the largest… more
Two prominent wooden warehouses were recently designed and built by platform frame construction (total floor area for each building is approximately 1,400 m²) in an economical and environmentally friendly way in Fukushima Prefecture. The… more
By mid-May the Coronavirus outbreak is showing signs of receding in Japan. The number of new cases nationwide peaked at the 650 level in mid-April. By mid-May, Tokyo has consistently reported less than 10 new cases daily. The state of… more
Manten Social Welfare Corporation builds another senior home using platform frame construction. This is the third 2×4 elderly care project the owners, Mr. & Mrs. Yamada, have built in Japan since participating in COFI/Canada Wood… more
This past year COFI/Canada Wood Japan worked with the Japan 2×4 Home Builders Association to facilitate the spread of large-scale wooden buildings using Nail-Laminated Timber (NLT) in horizontal diaphragms such as roof and floor… more
January’s total housing starts dropped 10.1% to finish at 60,341 units for the seventh consecutive monthly decline. Owner-occupied housing declined 13.8%, and rental housing fell 2.5%. Wooden housing fell 11.2% to 33,849 units. Post… more
Recently Scott Anderson (APA Canadian Program Representative) and I had the opportunity to visit a customer working on an agricultural project in Hitachi-Omiya City, Ibaraki Prefecture. As reported in previous blog articles, the Canada… more
Canada Wood is delighted to report the first commercial adoption of a newly developed Midply wall system for post and beam applications in the Makado Kagamimochi Nursery School in Tochigi Prefecture. This innovative building is a 750… more
In an encouraging trend, we have seen an increase in nail plate truss use in post and beam non-residential construction in Japan. On a recent trip to Hokkaido, Tokyo based staff had the opportunity to visit two post beam buildings with a… more
Dated March 2nd, 2020, Canada Wood/COFI(Council of Forest Industries) Japan renewed our status as a Registered Overseas Certifying Body (ROCB) under the Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) accreditation system supervised by the Ministry… more
As of late March, Japan had a total of 1,905 cases of the Corona Virus – including 712 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise liner. The nation recorded 53 related deaths thus far. Currently, there are 15 clusters of patients nationwide:… more
According to a Japanese Government Cabinet Office survey conducted in October 2019, the popularity of 2×4 housing continues to gain traction among younger generations in Japan. The survey first reconfirms that the popularity… more
