There is an increasing number of aging infrastructure that cannot be repaired due to financial difficulties of local governments and lack of human resources.
An NHK analysis found that more than 7,000 bridges and tunnels remain unrepaired for more than five years after safety inspections by local governments determined that repairs were necessary.
Ten years ago in December, the Sasago Tunnel on the Chuo Expressway collapsed, killing nine people.
NHK conducted its own analysis by combining data on safety inspections of approximately 740,000 bridges and tunnels nationwide published by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as of March and data such as inspection times obtained from information disclosure requests. .
There were a total of 33,390 bridges and tunnels across the country that were judged to require immediate repair or urgent repair, but were not repaired.
The government says that repairs and other measures are required within 5 years, but of these, 6967 bridges and 74 tunnels have not been repaired even after 5 years, for a total of 7041 places. was revealed to rise to
Some bridges continue to be closed to traffic, and some bridges have partially collapsed.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 34% of bridges were built more than 50 years ago during the period of rapid economic growth, and this number is expected to rise to 59% in 10 years.
The number of aging infrastructures that cannot be repaired is expected to increase in the future, and the issue is how to protect safety.
A spokesperson for the National Highway and Engineering Division of the Road Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said, ``We recognize that safety measures for aging infrastructure have not been sufficiently advanced, especially for small local governments, due to tight budgets and personnel. We will continue to work on measures to prevent it from happening."