Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced the data of licensed construction companies in fiscal 2013 that ended in March 2014. The total number slightly rose by 0.2% from a year earlier to 470,639, still in the down trend since 1999 when the number hit a record high of 600,980.
Contractors newly licensed in fiscal 2013 amounted 15,738, which is 9.1% down from the previous year, while 14,999 firms, down 51.7%, lost their licenses. The number in all prefectures decreased from the record at its peak, the disaster-hit Miyagi Prefecture in North East Japan showed the smallest drop of 8.8%. In west part of Japan including Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Wakayama, a significant decline as much as 20% was seen. (2014/06/05)