Politics & Government

Japanese Govt to Trial Offering Bidding Preference to Construction Firms Proposing Heat Wave Countermeasures

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
A worker wears a watch that sounds an alarm when one’s body heat or the ambient temperature gets too high in Yamagata in August.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, December 22, 2025

Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry will trial a system next summer that gives preference to construction companies proposing heat wave countermeasures that utilize science and technology in their bids for civil engineering projects.

As heat waves become increasingly severe, the government aims to encourage innovative approaches to heatstroke prevention across the entire construction industry, with a goal of full implementation from 2027.

The ministry’s bidding primarily uses a scoring auction system, where technical capability, construction track record, price and other factors are scored. The contractor with the highest total score wins the bid.

According to sources, for some of the projects scheduled for bidding next summer, heat countermeasures utilizing science and technology will be added as an evaluation criterion under this scoring framework, and all participating contractors will be asked to submit proposals.

Possible countermeasures include introducing the latest technologies to shorten summer construction periods, utilizing remote operation to control heavy machinery from distant places such as indoor areas and managing workers’ risk of heatstroke through methods like measuring core body temperature.

Additionally, a system allowing contractors to choose summer construction schedules and working hours — such as suspending work during peak summer months — will be introduced next summer.

These measures will apply to all civil engineering projects except emergency work after events such as disasters. Special specifications detailing processes and construction methods will explicitly state that schedules and working hours can be flexibly set through consultation with clients. In addition to summer work stoppages, this will allow for early morning or late night work, as well as extended daytime breaks.

The ministry will soon announce these extreme heat countermeasures. “We will inform local governments and industry groups, aiming to expand these measures to projects commissioned by entities other than the national government,” said a ministry official.