Building Permits Are Strict. There Is Almost No System for Destruction.

In the mountainous area of Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, over 15 hectares have burned. Forty-six fire trucks were dispatched, and helicopters were also deployed, but there was no immediate prospect of extinguishing the fire. The source of the blaze was a site where waste materials were being burned.

Around the same time, a fire broke out at a ship dismantling site in Onomichi City, Kure. Abandoned ships and surrounding waste materials caught fire, leading to 19 ships drifting away from their moorings. Firefighting efforts lasted for an extended period, and smoke spread into residential areas.

There is no direct connection between the two fires. However, when viewed side by side, a similar structure emerges. Both incidents stem from a lack of disposal options for what is produced after ‘destruction.’

To build a structure, a building confirmation is required. To construct a ship, inspections are necessary. The ‘creation’ side has clearly defined permits, procedures, and accountability. What about the ‘destruction’ side? There are regulations such as demolition notifications, waste management laws, and air pollution prevention laws—these systems exist. However, they do not reach the actual sites. No one pays attention to this lack of reach in their daily lives—until a fire breaks out.

—

Where Does Waste Go?—The Background of the Fukuyama Forest Fire

Regarding the forest fire in Fukuyama City, the reported cause is ‘the incineration of waste materials.’ Investigations are ongoing to determine who was burning the waste and under what circumstances. However, the underlying structure can be understood through data rather than speculation.

According to the Ministry of the Environment’s report on ‘Industrial Waste Generation and Disposal,’ construction-related waste accounts for about 20% of all industrial waste. The disposal costs for construction waste, including wood chips and rubble, have been rising year by year, with transport fees to intermediate processing facilities averaging between 10,000 to 30,000 yen per ton. For small-scale demolition sites and individual operators, these costs are significant.

There is a desire to reduce disposal costs. Procedures are complex and often postponed. There may be no nearby facilities to accept the waste—when these circumstances converge, the option to ‘just burn it’ remains. Open burning is generally prohibited under waste management laws, but there are exceptions for agricultural and forestry-related incineration, making the line between legal and illegal often ambiguous. As a result, waste materials linger in a gray area of legality.

The Bingo region, where Fukuyama City is located, has long been home to industries related to wood processing and shipbuilding. Where there are industries, waste is generated. Where waste is generated, there needs to be a system to manage it. The capacity of that system may not keep pace with the scale of the industry.

—

The Weight of ‘Ending’ a Ship—From the Scene in Onomichi, Kure

The fire in Onomichi City occurred at a unique ship dismantling site. Dismantling ships presents challenges distinct from demolishing buildings. Ships contain multiple materials—steel, FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic), wood, paints, and oils—requiring different routes for sorting and disposal.

In particular, the disposal of FRP boats has been a longstanding issue. The Japan Small Craft Manufacturers Association estimates that there are over 200,000 FRP abandoned boats in Japan. Recycling FRP is difficult, and the mainstream method involves crushing it for use as cement material, but disposal costs can reach several hundred thousand yen per boat. As a result, boats that owners cannot afford to dispose of, or whose owners are unknown, accumulate in ports across the country.

The fact that 19 drifting boats were confirmed after the fire in Onomichi indicates that there were that many boats clustered around the dismantling site. It is unclear whether the mooring ropes burned through or deteriorated due to heat, but the drifting boats obstruct navigation routes, causing secondary damage to other vessels and port facilities. The inadequate management of ‘destruction sites’ has exacerbated the risks to the entire region beyond the initial fire damage.

Kure City was once a naval shipyard town, thriving on shipbuilding and repairs. While the technology for building ships is proudly discussed, the technology and systems for ending ships have not been given the same weight in conversation.

—

There Are No People to Support ‘Destruction’

Here, I want to touch on another common structural issue shared by the two fires: the problem of human resources.

The demolition and waste management industries are considered fields with few new entrants within the construction industry. Looking at the trends in the number of licensed construction businesses by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, while the number of licensed demolition contractors has gradually increased since the establishment of the category in 2019, in reality, many existing construction companies have simply added this to their services, and there are limited new entrants specializing in this area.

The work is physically demanding, and there are health risks associated with dust and asbestos. Profit margins are not high, and social recognition is low. Jobs in ‘creation’ have glamorous entry points such as design and architecture, but there are none for ‘destruction.’ As a result, existing operators are aging, and the pace of their business closures is outpacing the entry of new players.

Without people, systems do not operate. Even if regulations exist, if there are no individuals to implement them on-site, waste materials lose their disposal options, and ships are left abandoned in ports. The void in Fukuyama’s mountains and Onomichi’s coastline has turned into fire.

—

There Are Systems. They Just Aren’t Reaching.

I want to clarify to avoid misunderstandings: it is not that there are no legal frameworks regarding ‘destruction.’

The Construction Recycling Law mandates notifications and sorted demolition for demolition work above a certain scale. The Waste Management Law has a manifest system to track the flow of waste. For ships, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism operates the Berthing and Storage Properness Law as a measure against abandoned vessels, and there are frameworks for removal and disposal by local governments.

However, the regulatory framework is coarse. Small-scale demolitions that do not fall under notification obligations, abandoned ships whose owners cannot be identified, and open burning that is difficult to distinguish from agricultural and forestry activities—there are many cases that fall outside the ‘system’ in local contexts. Moreover, there is a paradox that those outside the system are often the least able to bear the costs of disposal.

It is not a simple matter of strengthening regulations. If regulations are tightened without support, there is a greater risk that those who cannot afford the costs will resort to illegal dumping or burning. What is needed is to design regulations and support as a package—creating systems that bring ‘destruction’ into legitimate channels, such as subsidies for disposal costs, improving access to intermediate processing facilities, and establishing simplified notification systems for small businesses.

—

Future Points of Interest—Who Will Drive This Structure?

The forest fire in Fukuyama will see investigations into the cause and accountability moving forward. The fire in Onomichi City will focus on the recovery of drifting boats and ensuring safety at the site in the immediate future. Both are entering the ‘post-incident’ phase.

However, what we should really be looking at is what comes next.

Will local governments take action to investigate the realities of waste disposal and abandoned ship management? Will discussions begin to reconsider the burden structure of disposal costs? Will concrete measures emerge to secure human resources in the demolition and waste management industries? After the fire is extinguished, will the conversation about the underlying structure continue?

‘Building’ and ‘destroying’ are inherently part of a single cycle. What is built will eventually be destroyed. The ships that are constructed will eventually come to an end. The costs of a system that has permitted only beginnings without designing how to end things are now manifesting as 15 hectares of burned land and 19 drifting ships in the harbor.

Who will create a system that gives procedures and respect to the act of destruction? This is not solely the job of regulatory authorities. When those who build, use, and end things all become stakeholders, only then can the cycle be closed.

Putting out fires is the job of firefighters. Creating a system that prevents fires is the responsibility of everyone living in the community.