In the 1950s, the Building Standards Law and Fire Defense Law already included regulations on fire protection division, fire doors, fire-resistant structure, and semicombustible and flame-retardant materials. Seventy years of accumulated knowledge contributes to the present versions of these laws.
It should be noted that in laws at the municipal level are sometimes more strict than the Building Standard Law or the Fire Defense Law. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, for example, has the Tokyo Metropolitan Building Safety Ordinance, but in 2010 introduced a new fire control regulation system that has been revised as necessary.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is steadily improving roads and razing and replacing combustible buildings in areas densely packed with wooden structures to ensure safety in disaster and to prevent the reproduction of densely packed wooden areas. For areas that Tokyo’s governor has designated as being at high risk of disaster, the fire resistance of buildings was reinforced.
To Be Continued
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