Aging Infrastructure: What Should be Done to Raise Funds for Repair and Renewal?

Editorial

15:18 JST, July 18, 2025

Aging infrastructure, including bridges, roads and sewerage, could lead to serious accidents, and the issue cannot be left unattended. A long-term strategy must be devised for how to proceed with its repair and renewal.

In the ongoing House of Councillors election campaign, most of the ruling and opposition parties have pledged to address aging infrastructure. The Liberal Democratic Party has pledged to “build disaster-resistant roads and ports and make water supply and sewerage systems as a whole earthquake-resistant,” while the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has pledged to promote “systematic renewal and consolidation and elimination of infrastructure.”

In the past, public works projects were treated as a symbol of “lavish handouts” in budgets, attracting public criticism. This view has changed because of a spate of accidents caused by aging infrastructure, such as collapsed tunnels, in various parts of the country.

In an accident earlier this year in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, a truck driver died after his truck fell into a hole in a prefectural road that had caved in, apparently due to aging sewerage pipes. Many people may have been surprised to learn that the dangers of aging infrastructure are increasing even in places where it cannot be seen.

Last month, the government decided on a medium-term plan that outlines infrastructure improvement projects to be implemented over the next five years.

The plan includes a policy to inspect, repair and replace a total of 5,000 kilometers of sewerage pipes that are considered to be at high risk of aging out of the 500,000 kilometers of sewerage pipes nationwide.

Not only sewerage systems but also other items of infrastructure that were built during Japan’s period of rapid economic growth are reaching the end of their lifespan one after another. For example, the percentage of road bridges that were built more than 50 years ago was 37% as of 2023, but the figure will reach 75% by 2040.

To prevent accidents and protect the safety of residents, it is necessary to properly repair and renew various items of infrastructure.

However, as the fiscal condition of the central government is tight, it is not easy to secure financial resources for that purpose. Social security costs will surely increase in the future due to the aging population. Defense capabilities must also be strengthened urgently.

Opposition parties are advocating consumption tax cuts or the abolition of the provisional gasoline tax rate. However, if tax revenues are carelessly reduced, the resolution of social issues, including the repair of infrastructure, could be delayed.

Local governments are also struggling to maintain and renew infrastructure.

The Yokohama city government has estimated that ¥170 billion, nearly twice as much as it has spent in the past, will be needed every year to maintain the city’s roads, ports and other items of infrastructure. It is difficult to raise such a huge amount of funds, and the city government is reportedly considering consolidating or eliminating various kinds of facilities.

Even a government ordinance-designated city like Yokohama, with its large population and fiscal strength, is facing a harsh reality. In the future, many local governments will likely accelerate discussions on downsizing infrastructure or deciding which parts of it to maintain or abandon.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 18, 2025)