Hello, everyone.

This is Enta.

Four Arrested on Suspicion of Violating the Construction Industry Act — Okinawa Prefectural Police

This problem has been around for a long time, but they just never seem to get caught, do they?

I think this is fairly common, especially among local companies, and it seems that major companies are doing it quite a bit as well.

I do think, though, that there are probably very few of them left at major companies these days (or maybe none at all?).

Generally speaking, for civil engineering projects we handle, the cost is 5 million yen or less (including materials).

That said, there's construction everywhere, lol.

I feel like it's been happening a lot lately.

However, since any design changes on-site would immediately result in disqualification, it’s better to have a construction business license—but are there actually contractors who don’t get one just because it costs money!?

As a recent trend, it seems to me that there are very few contractors working on public works projects who don't hold a construction business license...

I do think it’s essential, though—once you get it, your range of work expands significantly.

What happens if an unlicensed contractor is used on a public works project and the cost exceeds 5 million?!

Since I think the statute of limitations has expired (it was more than 20 years ago), I’ll go ahead and mention this—for example, recording it as a regular expense for a different construction project (one that’s unrelated).

This is the quickest way.

To be honest, I think even some companies these days are doing this.

This is especially true for general contractors—I suppose it’s to avoid drawing attention to their losses.

For subcontractors like us—small and medium-sized independent contractors—this requirement is practically meaningless, but I imagine it’s a major challenge for general contractors and branch offices, since it affects their performance evaluations and bidding processes.

If possible, even the smallest construction company should really make sure to get its construction business license, though...

That said, personally, I think it would be great if these kinds of unscrupulous businesses were cracked down on more and more.

As with anti-social groups, is it because of people like this that the industry isn’t improving, or is it simply being lumped together as “that kind of industry” to begin with?

Given the labor shortage, we’ll likely see more instances in the future where even such contractors turn a blind eye or pretend they didn’t know.

There's this phenomenon where people say they just want anyone to join...

It’s a scary time, isn’t it, when it seems like they’ll just go about their business with impunity.

See you later.