DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE OF JAPAN WITH EMPHASIS ON BRIDGES

Abstract

The paper presents characteristics and challenges of Japanese maintenance technology through investigation of historical development and comparison with U.S. It is shown that Japanese development is motivated by the status of infrastructure stock of each age, i.e., A) functional obsolescence at Taisho era, B) deterioration at WWII period, and C) initial defect at post war economic growth period. In comparison to U.S., Japanese development is more focused to technological aspects, while importance of resource allocation is stressed in U.S. from social point of view. In both countries, technological development is highly influenced by implementation of systematic inspection and information management