Illegality of Collapsed Wall Overlooked in City Inspection

June 22, 2018

Takatsuki, Osaka Pref.- The education board of the city of Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, overlooked in a past inspection the illegality of a concrete block wall that collapsed due to Monday's earthquake to kill a nine-year-old girl, according to the city.

In the accident, the girl, Rina Miyake, died after she got trapped under the wall that stood next to a swimming pool of a city-run elementary school in Takatsuki and collapsed onto a sidewalk following the 6.1-magnitude quake that hit the western Japan prefecture and nearby areas.

In February 2016, the principal of the elementary school asked the city education board to inspect the wall in question, after an outside disaster prevention expert pointed out in November 2015 that it may be dangerous.

An official of the education board then examined the strength of the wall via hammering.

The official judged that the wall was safe, failing to find out that it was an illegally constructed structure violating the country's building safety standards, according to the city.

On Friday, the education board said the official did not have architect or other licenses.

The official did not keep a record of the inspection because the wall was judged as safe. Therefore, no information about the wall was shared within the education board.

The wall comprised a 1.6-meter-tall section built on top of a 1.9-meter-tall base, exceeding the legal limit of 2.2 meters in height. In addition, the wall lacked buttresses.

According to an investigation conducted after the accident, reinforcing bars connecting the base and the part built above the foundation were only 33 centimeters long each. The length of the bars that extended into the upper part of the wall was only about 20 centimeters, suggesting the possibility of poor connection between the two portions.

The city plans to announce on Friday the results of its emergency safety inspections conducted after the quake on concrete block walls and other facilities at all of 59 elementary and junior high schools located in the city. Illegally constructed structures have already been found at multiple schools. Jiji Press