Everything I’ve written so far, grouped by subject. If you’re new here, start with the three in the first list — they give you the shape of a Japanese site before the details.
New to Japanese construction? Start here
- A Day on a Japanese Construction Site — the working day, hour by hour: the morning meeting, the hazard talk, the fixed breaks.
- Construction Safety in Japan — who is responsible, the rules at height, and the heatstroke duty that began in June 2025.
- Shokunin: Who’s Who on a Japanese Construction Site — the trades, the ranks, and how skill is measured.
Japanese Construction Sites
How a site actually runs, and the industry around it.
- Japan’s Construction Industry: Challenges and Where It’s Heading — fewer workers, an ageing workforce, and the 2024 overtime rules.
- Japanese Construction Workwear: From Baggy Pants to Fan Jackets, and Why — why the clothing looks the way it does, and what it does.
- A Day on a Japanese Construction Site: Hour by Hour — 7:00 to 17:00, and the meeting visitors never see.
- Construction Safety in Japan: The Rules You’ll Actually Meet — checked against the official texts, with sources.
- Construction Work in Japan: How to Actually Get In — the routes in, the two tests, and how to check an employer before you sign.
- Three Mistakes I Made on a Japanese Construction Site — what actually happens when a supervisor gets it wrong, and what it costs.
Japanese Technology
The tools changing the work, and what they cost as well as save.
- Construction Drones in Japan: What Sites Use Them For, and the Rules — surveying from the air, and the registration rules.
- ICT Construction in Japan: What It Saves, and What It Costs — 3D data, kui-navi, and machine guidance.
- BIM in Japan: What Production Design Really Looks Like — the job between the design and the site, and the new BIM drawing review.
- Construction Robots in Japan: Why Rivals Stopped Competing — who actually built the layout robot first, and why Japanese rivals share one now.
- Seismic Isolation in Japan: Not a Japanese Invention — who invented it, how far Japan took it, and the inspection data that was rewritten.
Japanese Craftsmen
The people who build, and the trade behind the work.
- Japanese Tool Belt: What a Site Supervisor Actually Carries — ten items, and why almost everything has a holder.
- Shokunin: Who’s Who on a Japanese Construction Site — trades, ranks, the national skill test, and the CCUS card.
- Japanese Construction Terms: The Words You’ll Hear on Site — the words for materials, tools and signals, and what to say when you don’t understand.
- Japanese Carpentry Tools: What Lasted, and What Left — which old tools are still on site, and which ones live in a museum.
More on the way
New articles are added regularly — currently one or two a week. If there’s something about Japanese construction you’d like me to cover, the Contact page is the fastest way to reach me.