Government / Ministerial Ordinance Draft, Detailed Provisions for Rationalization of Building Standards in Revised Building Energy Conservation Law
Based on the revised Building Energy Conservation Law enacted in this year's ordinary session of the Diet, specific examples of energy-saving construction that will make it possible to relax building floor area ratios and building coverage ratios have been revealed. Efforts to ease the restrictions include installation of eaves to block sunlight, exterior wall construction to improve heat insulation, and exterior wall construction to install renewable energy equipment. The bill was included in the draft amendments to ministerial ordinances based on the law, which the government announced on September 30. It also stipulates that businesses that supply over 1,000 units of condominiums per year will be obliged to respond to the "Housing Top Runner System."
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism cited "rationalization of related regulations such as height restrictions that hinder the introduction of energy-saving renovations and renewable energy facilities" as one of the points when the bill was submitted. It is in the form of showing the specific contents of the rationalization in the revision of the ministerial ordinance. Opinions on the revised bill will be solicited until the 29th and will be promulgated in November. It will come into force on April 1, 2023.
Mitigation measures such as floor area ratios through energy-saving renovations and the introduction of renewable energy facilities are subject to the approval of the specified government agency that there are no obstacles in terms of safety, fire prevention, and hygiene. Construction that exceeds the upper limit set by the Building Standards Law is possible within the scope permitted by the specified administrative agency. Related provisions will be included in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism ordinance based on the Construction Standard Law.
The Construction Standards Act requires that the area of the lighting part of houses, schools, hospitals, etc. should be at least one-seventh of the floor area. However, if the lighting part is large, it will be affected by sunlight and the heat insulation will decrease, resulting in a decrease in the efficiency of air conditioning. The latest amendment to the Enforcement Ordinance of the Building Standards Law is limited to housing, and the regulations on the area of the lighting part will be relaxed to more than 1/10 of the floor area. It is necessary to install lighting equipment indoors according to the standards separately established by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In addition, the amended Building Energy Conservation Law expands the "Housing Top Runner System," which requires major businesses to supply housing with high energy efficiency performance. In addition to detached houses, condominiums were added to the scope of the system. Under the revision of the ordinance for enforcing the same law, businesses that supply more than 1,000 units of condominiums per year will be designated as major businesses and will be obliged to comply with the top runner system.
