REUTERS 26 Dec 2006

A Japanese architect at the centre of a scandal over unsafe buildings was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday for his role in a scandal that left scores of apartments and hotels vulnerable to even moderate earthquakes.

The scandal, in which quake-resistance data was falsified for buildings, first broke more than a year ago and outraged the public in the earthquake-prone country.

Hidetsugu Aneha, 49, who has been stripped of his architect licence, had already pleaded guilty after faking data for nearly 100 apartments and hotels that he had designed, in a bid to cut costs out of fear he would lose contractors’ business.

Aneha had added that his wife was in poor health. She was found dead in March, and media reports quoted police as saying it may have been suicide.

Aneha was also fined 1.8 million yen ($15,000) in the case, in which he was indicted for fabricating data for four condominiums and two hotels, the Tokyo District Court said.

An architectural designer linked to the scandal was given a suspended sentence on Tuesday, the court said.

Two others, a construction company executive and the head of a building inspection firm, have also received suspended sentences for falsifying company financial statements.

The scandal, which experts said had its roots in a drive to cut costs, prompted criticism of the government for lax building inspections.

Many of the hotels have been forced to shut down, although some have reopened after reinforcement work.

Local governments have ordered residents of affected apartments to leave their homes and a few of the buildings are being torn down, although many who had bought apartment units are still paying mortgages on the flawed condominiums.

Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. On Oct. 23, 2004, a 6.8 magnitude quake struck the Niigata region, about 250 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, killing 65 people and injuring 3,000.

That was Japan’s deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 tremor killed more than 6,400 in the western city of Kobe in 1995. ($1=118.92 Yen)

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