1. Kenchikushi (Architects and Building Engineers)

Table of Contents

1. Kenchikushi (Architects and Building Engineers)

1.1 Structure of the Kenchikushi Law
1.2 Service and Title Exclusively for Kenchikushi
1.3 Type of Kenchikushi
1.4 Registration of Kenchikushi
1.5 Service of Kenchikushi
1.6 Responsibility of Kenchikushi
1.7 Kenchikushi Office
1.8 Total Number of Registered Kenchikushi
1.9 Status of Kenchikushi
1.10 Eligibility for Qualifying for Kenchikushi
1.11 Precondition for Overseas Architects and related Building Engineers to Obtain Kenchikushi Licenses

The Kenchikushi Law was revised in December, 2006.
See : Outline of Amendments to the Kenchikushi Law �iPDF�E1.20MB�@File Updated : 31/3/2010�j�@

Kenchikushi is a national qualification under the Kenchikushi Law. ( Law No.202 of 1950 )
The Kenchikushi Law was promulgated and became effective in 1950, and has been partially revised several times since then.
Kenchikushi is licensed to design building*¹ and superintend construction work*² , etc. and there are three types of Kenchikushi; 1st-class Kenchikushi, 2nd-class Kenchikushi, and Mokuzo-Kenchikushi.
Those who intend to become Kenchikushi must pass the qualifying examination for Kenchikushi and obtain the license.

1.1 Structure of the Kenchikushi Law

The Kenchikushi Law mainly specifies such aspects as scope of exclusive services, license, qualifying examination, services, Kenchikushi offices, and penal provisions. Its structure is presented in figure below.

Structure of Kenchikushi Law

�¦Kenchikushi-kai: Architects and Building Engineers Association
�@ Kenchikushi-kai-rengokai: Federation of Architects and Building Engineers Association

Feature of the Kenchikushi Law

The qualifications of Kenchikushi are classified into three types: 1st-class Kenchikushi, 2nd-class Kenchikushi, and Mokuzo-Kenchikushi. Kenchikushi is looked upon as a general concept in which a person plays the dual role of an architect and a building engineer. The Kenchikushi Law specifies the services and titles exclusively for Kenchikushi. When Kenchikushi intends to engage in building design, superintendence of construction work, and other services as a business (receiving remuneration from others), he/she must establish a Kenchikushi office.

�ƒNotes�„
*1 Building:
�gBuilding�h means a structure, including architectural facilities, that is fixed to the ground and has a roof and pillars or walls, attached entrances and walls, structures for viewing purposes, offices, shops, halls/auditoriums, warehouses and other related facilities constructed underground or in high-rise structures (excluding railroad facilities constructed near railway tracks) (Article 2 of the Building Standard Law). The structure includ chimneys, advertisement towers, elevated water tanks, retaining walls, manufacturing facilities, storage facilities, etc (Article 88 of the Building Standard Law).
*2 Design, superintendence of construction work:
Under this law, "design" means those tasks involved in preparation of drawings/specifications under the responsibility of a qualified person. "Drawings/specifications" include drawings (excluding full-scale drawings and the like) and specifications required for building construction work. Such drawings/specifications are a set of documents covering the entire and part of construction work, and items related to building equipment and building structure. Similarly, "superintendence of construction work" means the reviewing of construction work against the corresponding drawings/specifications to confirm whether the construction work is carried out in accordance with such drawings/specifications under the responsibility of a qualified person. (Article 2 paragraphs 5 and 6 of the Law)

1.2 Service and Title Exclusively for Kenchikushi

�EKenchikushi Law stipulates the use, structure, height, etc. of buildings, which only Kenchikushi can design, and superintend construction works, etc. (Article 3 of the Law) �EThose who are not Kenchikushi are prohibited to use the title of Kenchikushi, and a Kenchikushi must not use the title of Kenchikushi for which he/she is not qualified.�iArticle 34-2 of the Law�j

Those who intend to become Kenchikushi must pass the qualifying examination and obtain the license issued by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (�gthe Minister�h hereunder) or the prefectural governor. (Articles 4 and 5 of the Law)

Those who cannot obtain licenses
�EThose who are minors, not legally competent or fully competent, or those whose licenses were revoked under the provision of Law, Article 10, paragraph 1, within the last two years. (Article 7 of the Law)
�EThose sentenced to imprisonment. (Article 8 of the Law)

1.6 Responsibility of Kenchikushi

(Ethics) A Kenchikushi must engage in his/her service faithfully and make every effort to improve building quality. (Article 18 paragraph 1 of the Law )

(Continuing Professional Development) A Kenchikushi must make every effort to maintain and improve his/her knowledge and the skills necessary for designing and superintending construction work. (Article 22 paragraph 1 of the Law )

1.7 Kenchikushi Office

Registration of Kenchikushi office

When a Kenchikushi or anyone who employs a Kenchikushi intends to engage in the business of service�¦ , upon request from others for a remuneration, he/she must establish a Kenchikushi office. (Article 23 of the Law) (�¦see �g6. Service of Kenchikushi�h)

Establishment of Kenchikushi office
�EThe founder of the Kenchikushi office dose not have to be a Kenchikushi.
�EThere are no conditions covering citizenship or domicile of Kenchikushi office founder. Founders of Kenchikushi office can be individuals or legal entities, and there are no restrictions on business format.
�ETo establish a Kenchikushi office, it is necessary to be registered by the Prefectural governors who has jurisdiction over the area where the office is located. (Article 23-2 of the Law)

Management of Kenchikushi office (Article 24 of the Law)
�EKenchikushi office must be managed by a full-time Kenchikushi (managing Kenchikushi).

Expiration of registration (Article 23 of the Law)
�EThe registration shall be valid for five years.
�EThose who intend to engage in services after the expiration of their registration must renew the registration for Kenchikushi office.

Duties of founder of the Kenchikushi office.

The founder of the Kenchikushi office must: prepare and keep a book which records items related to its services; (Article 24-2 of the Law) display a sign specified by the Law Enforcement Regulation at a conspicuous place in the Kenchikushi office so that the public can readily see it; (Article 24-3 of the Law) keep documents including the business performance record of the said office, practical experience of the Kenchikushi who manages the said office, etc. and must offer the documents for public perusal, when requested by the building owner or the prospective building owner; (Article 24-4 of the Law) issue documents describing the service consigned, when the founder of Kenchikushi office performs the design of the building or the superintendence of construction work through consignment by the building owner. (Article 24-5 of the Law)

1.8 Total Number of Registered Kenchikushi

Total number of registered Kenchikushi (cumulative, as of March 31, 2011)

1st-class Kenchikushi	2nd-class Kenchikushi	Mokuzo-Kenchikushi	Total
343,650	730,336	16,726	1,090,712

Notes:
1. Above figures show the number of registered Kenchikushi by type, including those holding multiple Kenchikushi licenses. The total number of Kenchikushi with multiple licenses and a breakdown of same are unknown.
2. Above figures exclude the deceased that sent in a notice of his/her death.

Total number of registered Kenchikushi office (cumulative, as of March 31, 2011)

1st-class Kenchikushi office	2nd-class Kenchikushi office	Mokuzo-Kenchikushi office	Total
84,529	32,957	505	117,991

1.9 Status of Kenchikushi

A Kenchikushi plays the dual role of an architect and a building engineer, and his/her service varies in the areas of Architectural design, Structural design, Building equipment design and Construction superintendence, etc.

Based on the results of �gFact -Finding Survey of Kenchikushi (1990�`93)�h (by the Japan Federation of Architects and Buildings Engineers Association), JAEIC re-aggregated the data as of 1993 fiscal year-end.

Pass Rate in PreviousYears

�@	1st-class Kenchikushi			2nd-class Kenchikushi			Mokuzo-Kenchikushi
�@	Applicant	successful	Pass rate�m�“�n	applicant	successful	Pass rate�m�“�n	applicant	successful	Pass rate�m�“�n
1993	56,314	6,738	12.0	47,121	11,156	23.7	143	36	25.2
1994	56,953	6,884	12.1	52,429	12,029	22.9	115	27	23.5
1995	57,526	6,842	11.9	57,286	13,104	22.9	110	23	20.9
1996	57,529	6,854	11.9	60,114	14,217	23.7	511	241	47.2
1997	59,708	6,977	11.7	61,147	15,115	24.7	685	329	48.0
1998	62,099	7,214	11.6	60,865	15,004	24.7	983	395	40.2
1999	63,289	7,343	11.7	57,726	14,016	24.3	879	398	45.3
2000	62,168	7,073	11.4	54,791	13,179	24.1	937	356	38.0
2001	59,902	4,120	6.9	49,185	12,155	24.7	722	218	30.2
2002	58,460	3,733	6.4	46,718	10,834	23.2	716	318	44.4
2003	55,045	4,477	8.1	45,673	12,103	26.5	807	373	46.2
2004	51,898	5,470	10.5	41,949	11,586	27.6	766	403	52.6
2005	49,976	5,548	11.1	38,633	9,018	23.3	865	464	53.6
2006	48,301	3,579	7.4	37,145	9,451	25.4	1,069	348	32.6
2007	46,204	3,705	8.0	36,529	7,178	19.7	1,132	505	44.6
2008	51,323	4,144	8.1	39,787	8,901	22.4	1,083	436	40.3
2009	46,942	5,164	11.0	36,386	8,298	22.8	1,206	406	33.7
2010	43,520	4,476	10.3	31,730	7,706	24.3	1,035	383	37.0

1.10 Eligibility for Qualifying for Kenchikushi

Qualifying examinations for Kenchikushi

Eligibility for qualifying examination for 1st-class Kenchikushi (Article 14 of the Law)

Requirements Category	Academic background or qualification		Practical building-related experience
	Most recent institution of graduation or qualification	Course
1	University	Official course in architecture or civil engineering	At least 2 years
2	3-year junior college	Official course in architecture or civil engineering	At least 3 years
3	2-year junior college	Official course in architecture or civil engineering	At least 4 years
4	College of technology	Official course in architecture or civil engineering	At least 4 years
5	2nd-class Kenchikushi	�\	At least 4 years
6	Others with special approval from the Minister

Note: Category 6 refers to those who have completed courses similar to official courses in architecture or civil engineering , whereby the Minister has granted approval to individual schools, such as universities and junior colleges, which are offering adequate courses. Those having graduated from courses other than an official course in architecture or civil engineering, such as building engineering and urban development, or graduates of special training school are required to have at least two years of practical experience, depending on the content of their programs. [Notification No.990 of the Ministry of Construction of 1980]

Eligibility for qualifying examinations for 2nd-class and Mokuzo-Kenchikushi. (Article 15 of the Law)

Requirements Category	Academic background related to building/architecture		Practical building-related experience
	Most recent institution of graduation	Course
1	University (including junior colleges) or college of technology	Official course in architecture	None
2		Official course in civil engineering	At least 1 year
3	Upper secondary school	Official course in architecture	At least 3 years
		Official course in civil engineering
4	No building/architecture-related educational experience		At least 7 years
5	Those with special approval from the prefectural governor

Practical experience applicable to each qualifying examination (Article 10 of the Law Enforcement Regulation)

�ƒApplicable experience�„
¥Undertaking of building design, superintendence and supervision of construction work, and other services requiring technical skills at a design office, construction company or general contractor;
�ECarpenter;
¥Architectural administration, building and maintenance at a government agency;
¥Research and teaching related to architecture at universities, research institutes and technical high school;
�EResearch at graduate school in building/architecture-related fields (completion of master�fs or doctorate program and the description of the research topics is required).

< Non-applicable experience >
¥Those performing only manual labor construction work (construction labor, copying drawings, etc.) are not eligible.

Flowchart for qualifying examinations for Kenchikushi (Articles of 11 to 13 of the Law Regulation Order)

The qualifying examination consists of the �gacademic subjects�h and the �gdesigning and drawing �h. Those who have passed examination in the academic subjects shall be exempt from it for a limited period of time. For 1st-class Kenchikushi, the limit shall be one fiscal year. For 2nd-class Kenchikushi and Mokuzo-Kenchikushi, the limit shall be two fiscal years after passing the examination.

Content of academic examination (Typical year�fs pattern)

Category	Number of Question	Time	Content
			1st-class Kenchikushi	2nd-class Kenchikushi	Mokuzo-Kenchikushi
Academic I (Planning and Design)	25	3 hours	The qualifying examinations for 1st-class Kenchikushi shall cover the knowledge required for architectural planning and design, environmental engineering building equipment and service (including outlines of equipment and apparatus), structural dynamics, general structure of buildings building materials, building construction, building estimate, and building regulation and related laws. �iArticles 11 of the Law Regulation Order�j	The qualifying examination for 2nd-class Kenchikushi shall be conducted on the basic knowledge acquired in an official course in architecture at an upper secondary school under the School Education Law and on the ability to make use of the basic knowledge so as to design and superintend construction work on ordinary wooden buildings and buildings of simple reinforced concrete construction, steel construction, brick construction, stone construction and concrete block construction. �iArticles 13 of the Regulation Order�j	The qualifying examination for Mokuzo-Kenchikushi shall be conducted on the basic knowledge of the construction of small wooden buildings acquired in an official course in architecture at an upper secondary school under the School Education Law and on the ability to make use of the basic knowledge so as design and superintend construction work related to small wooden buildings. (Article 13-2 of the Regulation Order)
Academic II (Regulations and Related Laws)	25
Academic III (Structure)	25	3 hours
Academic IV(Construction)	25

Examination in designing and drawing involves creating an actual design drawing based on design requirements provided on the day of examination (land area, building specifications, etc.), and only the title of the task, etc. is given beforehand.

Content of examination in designing and drawing (Typical year�fs pattern)

Category	Time	Structure		Requested drawings (scale)
1st-class Kenchikushi examination	5.5 hours	RC or SRC		Arrangement plans,plan of each floor, section (each 1/200), floor square chart by etc.
2nd-class Kenchikushi examination	4.5 hours	Wooden Construction ( 2 storeys )		Arrangement plans, plan of each floor, elevation(each 1/100), sectional detail drawing (1/20) , floor square chart, etc.
		Non-Wooden Construction (2 storeys )		Arrangement plans, plan of each floor, elevation (each 1/100), sectional detail drawing (1/20) or section (1/100), floor square chart, etc.
Mokuzo-Kenchikushi examination	4.5 hours	WoodenConstruction(2storeys )	Assignment A	Plan of each floor, foundation framing plan, floor framing plan, roof framing plan (each 1/100), column (1/10), main construction materials table (Bill of quantities for the main wooden structures), etc.
			Assignment B	Plan of each floor, foundation framing plan, floor framing plan, roof framing plan (each 1/100), sectional detail drawing (1/20), main construction materials table, etc.

Note1: For 2nd-class Kenchikushi exam, assignment of either wooden or non-wooden construction is given by area group of prefectures in Japan.
Note 2: For Mokuzo-Kenchikushi exam, a choice of between assignment A (adapted for carpenter�fs practice) and assignment B (drawing based on modern method) is given.

1.11 Precondition for Overseas Architects and related Building Engineers to Obtain Kenchikushi Licenses

Obtaining 1st-class Kenchikushi Licenses In principle, those intending to obtain a Kenchikushi license must pass the qualifying examination for Kenchikushi and register as a Kenchikushi. There are no citizenship requirements covering qualifying examination, and there are special provisions for academic qualifications obtained overseas, as discussed below.(Article 14-1-4 of the Law) �¨ Those who have obtained an overseas license for building design shall be able to obtain a 1st-class Kenchikushi license without taking the ordinary qualifying examination for 1st-class Kenchikushi if the Minister concludes that they have qualifications equal or superior to that of the 1st-class Kenchikushi. (Article 4-3 of the Law)�¨

In case of taking the qualifying examination (Refer to JAEIC for detail information)

Architect, (Structural)Engineer (Refer to the Building Guidance Division, Housing Bureau of MLIT for detail information)

�¦Building Guidance Division, Housing Bureau of MLIT TEL�F+81-3-5253-8111 FAX�F+81-3-5253-1630 URL http://www.mlit.go.jp/