No More Bridges

In reponse to Keiji's blog entry 11/9/2007:

Keiji's blog post entitled "Bridge" expresses concern about the poor condition of bridges in Japan, even asking "Why does the government [do] nothing?" The Japan Times article linked in the post discusses the aging of bridges and how delaying repair could lead to disasters similar to the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota this past summer. Interestingly, the question of the past couple of decades has been "Why does the government do anything?" when it comes to construction within Japan. The Japanese construction state is enormous and terribly corrupt, sucking up large sums of taxpayers' money for useless construction projects that are not tied to public need. According to Jeffrey Broadbent, dirty pork barrel politics maintains the construction state; politicians benefit with votes and financial support for their elections when they exploit the system.
Thus it is curious that the Japan Times article in Keiji's post is concerned about lack of financial resources to support the repair or replacement of Japanese bridges. Many elaborate bridges and roads have been built where none were truly needed, and money has been poured into unsightly projects such as the placement of concrete tetrapods on 50% of Japan's shoreline. The repair of unsafe bridges is necessary and definitely within the construction state's budget. The prevention of future public works projects that serve no social need should be yet another priority.

For more information, please see Jeff Kingston's book "Japan's Quiet Transformation: Social Change and Civil Society in the 21st Century" and the chapter on Downsizing the Construction State.