Five months ago, a long-established beer hall was destroyed by demolition work on the building next door. After the incident, we found out that compensation was taking a long time and the trouble was prolonged. ■Beer Hall Demolition Accident Last July, it was the beer hall's busiest summer season. The walls collapsed and the ceiling beams were blown away. You can see the blue sky from inside the restaurant. Four months later, the lot next door was completely vacant, but when we visited the damaged restaurant, we found that the pillar had a large crack due to the impact of the accident. "A hole opened here with a bang, about 2 meters (vertical) and 4 meters (horizontal). Heavy machinery was coming in hard, so the hole kept getting bigger, and eventually the whole place was a hole." The restaurant was forced to cancel reservations for 500 people, and 10 million yen in sales was wiped out. The accident was caused by a contractor demolishing the building next door, but the situation was getting even more serious. We can't start the restoration work on the store until the demolition of the building next door is finished... Watanabe: "The subcontractor (who caused the accident) did not have a license for large-scale demolition work. We asked the main contractor to find a new subcontractor, and the work (on the building next door) resumed, but it took a month and a half to find a contractor and resume." From 2021 onwards, large-scale demolition work costing more than 5 million yen will require government permission. When asked whether the scale of the demolition work this time required a "permission," the construction company that ordered the demolition commented in an interview, "We will refrain from answering details such as the cause of the accident." Looking at the images from before the accident, there is almost no gap between the building being demolished and the beer hall building. Experts have doubts about the heavy equipment used in the work. Tatsuya Nakano, director of the Anshin Demolition Contractor Certification Association, said, "The tip of the heavy equipment alone weighs two tons. Due to the weight, the tip of the equipment shakes a lot. It is hard to imagine using that method of construction when the buildings are so close together." Another problem that troubled the beer hall was its financial situation. ■ Time to make compensation Prolonged trouble Watanabe: "Four months have passed since the accident, and we have no sales. We are in debt to pay fixed costs. I thought the insurance money for the construction would be paid more smoothly, so I can't hide my anxiety that nothing has been decided even after four months." The damage to the beer hall is expected to be covered by the insurance that the demolition company had, but only about 10% of the construction costs have been paid as a lump sum. The insurance should also cover the personnel costs of employees and the fixed costs of maintaining the store, but it has not yet been decided when and how much will be paid, and the store is currently paying the costs in advance. For this reason, a crowdfunding campaign was conducted, and 5 million yen was raised in donations. Watanabe: "We are relying on the support we receive and the messages we receive saying 'do your best.' We have a lot of worries, but we are looking forward to reopening." ■ How to prevent trouble? In recent years, buildings built during the period of high economic growth have deteriorated, increasing the demand for demolition work. Accidents at the site have also occurred frequently. In Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, scaffolding collapsed and hit a building opposite. As it is a cultural asset with over 100 years of history, the investigation took time, and it has not yet been fully restored. It is said that in cases where compensation for demolition accidents takes time to pay, as the scope of compensation is wide. Yuya Tanaka, Executive Officer of the "Demolition Desk," said, "If it is simply broken or damaged, it is relatively simple, but in the case of damages due to business interruption, estimates must be made by specialist companies, and if the number of people involved increases, documents must be submitted from each perspective. In some cases, it can take time to calculate (compensation)." Is there a way to prevent trouble? Executive Officer Tanaka: "I think we will definitely receive a notice that demolition work will be carried out. You can check whether the contractor has a license on the city's (government) website or the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's website. Asking for an explanation of what kind of insurance they have and what kind of compensation they can receive could be a possible defensive measure." (From "Good! Morning" broadcast on January 9, 2025) [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp