Indoor Air Quality Standards and Regulations in Japan

Abstract

A rapidly increasing number of buildings have been erected in Japan since 1960, because of the high economic growth from the rehabilitation after World War II. Because of the limited residential space in densely populated Japan, buildings are becoming larger and taller as rapid progress is made in architectural techniques. These buildings were not constructed on the basis of a thorough consideration of maintaining and improving the sanitary environment, and there are too many inadequacies with respect to sanitary management after construction. As an increasing number of people spend almost all day in such buildings, attention began to be paid to the effect of the environmental sanitary conditions on the health of the people using the buildings. Faced with this situation, the Japanese government enacted ‘the Law for Maintenance of Sanitation in Buildings’ in 1970 and established the Building Sanitation Management Standards as an ordinance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which specified management standards for adjustment of the air environment in buildings, management of water supply and sewage, cleaning and the control of rodents and insects. However, this law compels the observance of management standards in specified buildings with a total floor space of 3,000 m2 or more. Hence, problems may remain in buildings with a floor space of 3,000 m2 or less, which are not regulated under this law.