748 km of Japan's Sewers Classified as Requiring Action

Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--The total length of sewer pipes in Japan that have been judged to require countermeasures due to risks such as cave-ins reached 748 kilometers, the infrastructure ministry said Tuesday.

The figure accounts for about 16 pct of the sewer pipes totaling 4,692 km that were inspected by the end of February, according to the results of intensive inspections.

The ministry will ask 383 municipalities and organizations managing the sewer pipes to take immediate measures, such as repairs.

The survey was conducted after a huge sinkhole was created on a road in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, in January 2025 due to the corrosion of a sewer pipe.

In March last year, the ministry requested local governments to inspect about 5,332 km of sewer pipes with diameters of 2 meters or more that have been used for 30 years or over for corrosion, sagging and cracks within about a year.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]