Abstract
The influence of internationalization has spread to building industries. Among all, forest products problem is one of the biggest issues among Japan, the USA and Canada. The USA and Canadian governments have pointed out that the main trade barrier to promote trade is domestic codes and standards in Japan which are concerned. But those domestic codes and standards have their own historces and social back grounds. It is very difficult work to understand those differences. What is more, the comparative studies don't have been done yet. Wood platform frame construction method has been introduced into Japan 1972, and legalized in 1974 in Japan. Almost all forest products which are utilized for this construction method have been imported from the USA and Canada. In the USA and Canada, people can build middle rise (4-5 stories) apartment houses using this construction method. This means they can build fire resistant building using this construction method. But in Japan, it has been probilited to build middle rise apartment using this construction method. This difference is one of the trade barrier to depress the consumption of forest products in Japan. Wood platform frame construction method was born in the USA and this mothod has introduced to Japan through Japanese understanding. In this paper, I discuss how introduced Japanese wood frame construction method has been varied from original method and how this variation has reflected to Japanese building codes.
