The government will ask other countries to supply a range of materials needed to construct tens of thousands
of makeshift housing units for quake and tsunami victims after demand has apparently overwhelmed supply in
Japan.
Land Minister Akihiro Ohata told reporters Tuesday the government will increase imports of building materials
by asking for the cooperation of other countries.
"We will secure materials by all means possible, including imports, to construct 60,000 housing units," Ohata
told a news conference held after a Cabinet meeting.
The government doubled its initial target of 30,000 units in response to requests from those rendered homeless
by the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11. The timescale for the units to be built
was also upped from two months to five.
However, it is not yet clear whether the government can meet its target.
Officials in the construction industry fear companies may begin stockpiling and withholding materials in
anticipation of a spike in prices after the government unveiled its new target.
So far, the construction of a total 6,300 temporary housing units is either under way or soon to begin in the
stricken region, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The ministry said walls and pillars to build about 10,000 more units will be available for shipment by the end of
next week. It projected that 30,000 units can be built in two months, as long as sites are secured.
But materials are not the only things in short supply.
"Materials have run short, but gasoline for vehicles that transport those materials is also becoming scant," said
the management of a general contractor based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, a major city that sustained serious
damage in the tsunami. "Moreover, if they try to begin all construction at the same time, manpower will also be
in short supply."
In Sendai, the construction of 30,000 units got under way in late March.
But insulation materials and laminated wood are becoming scarce because factories producing them were also
damaged in the disaster.
Miyagi Governor Yoshikazu Murai asked for the understanding of the displaced people.
"It's not only Miyagi Prefecture that needs temporary housing units, it's the entire coastal region," Murai said.
"Even if we asked all the suppliers in Japan, it would be difficult to procure materials immediately."
Mag-Isover KK, a Tokyo-based company that makes fiberglass insulation for homes, reported damage at two of
three domestic factories.
A key factory in Ibaraki Prefecture is expected to reopen its production line in late May.
Rolling blackouts introduced by Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear
power plant, is also affecting manufacturers in the Kanto region.
Tokyo-based Asahi Fiber Glass Co. said fiberglass insulation output at its factory in Kanagawa Prefecture, which
accounts for 80 percent of the company's overall production, would be reduced in half if TEPCO carried out
rolling power outages as scheduled. Mag-Isover KK and Asahi Fiber Glass together represent 80 percent of
Japan's overall production.
Companies dealing in fiberglass insulation are expected to expand imports of the product to 4,000 tons a month,
four times the previous amount.
Plywood supplies for building walls, ceilings and floors are also insufficient. Six factories belonging to six
manufacturers sustained damage in several prefectures, including Iwate and Miyagi. These prefectures account
for 30 percent of domestic output. Officials at affected factories said they are unsure of when the factories will
reopen.
Although the annual capacity of domestic plywood makers is 115 million sheets, well above the estimated 2.2
million sheets needed to build the targeted units, a representative at a leading home builder said stocks were
low.
"After the disasters, many companies rushed to stockpile them in fear that plywood would become scarce," the
representative said. "Now there is a shortage, and it is difficult to procure plywood for new entrants in the
industry."
（转自Asahi Shimbun (Japan) ）