A recovery in Japan's private-sector capital investment during the mid-1980s brought an end to a difficult period for the country's construction industry.
At that time, use of sophisticated office automation, information, and communications equipment was rapidly increasing, as was demand for buildings that offer their occupants more-pleasant work environments. This spurred a boom in the construction of so-called intelligent buildings. Against this backdrop, the Company presented its proposals for enhancing the functionality and amenity of office buildings in the form of the KI Building in Tokyo, which was completed in 1989. Incorporating the latest technologies, this epochal structure had a significant influence on the design of subsequently constructed office buildings.
In 1988, the completion of a tunnel connecting Honshu with Hokkaido and a bridge linking Honshu with Shikoku increased the geographic coherence of the Japanese archipelago. At the same time, the appreciation of the yen encouraged a growing number of Japanese companies to establish overseas subsidiaries with the goal of boosting their international competitiveness.
Kajima listed its shares on the London Stock Exchange in 1990.
Kajima played an important role in the construction of the Seikan Tunnel, which links Honshu and Hokkaido (1988).
Kajima was responsible for constructing crucial components of the Seto-Ohashi Bridge, which connects Honshu and Shikoku (1988).
Featuring lush tropical plants, the atrium of the KI Building has not lost any of its ultramodern appeal since the building's completion in 1989.
Japan’s bubble economy collapsed in 1991, with the country subsequently entering an era of deflation that would last the next two decades. Economic growth halted, and a sense of despair spread through all of Japanese society. The nation’s economy began to decline, with adverse effects—including the shrinking of facilities investment, the advancing of deflation and a slump in consumer spending—causing the nation to steadily sink into an era of zero growth. Due to the aftereffects of the collapse, construction demand, which had been active up until the mid-90s, began to steeply decline, particularly in the private sector. It was against this backdrop that Kajima completed the construction of Tokyo East 21, a complex including offices, a hotel and commercial facilities in 1992. In fact, not only did Kajima plan, design and construct this building, but we also handle office/retail leasing for the building as well as running and managing it ourselves. This makes the Tokyo East 21 project a concrete demonstration of Kajima’s all-round strengths.
In 1999, the Kajima Technical Research Institute, the first such institution to be established in Japan, marked its 50th anniversary.
Situated in Tokyo's Koto ward, Tokyo East 21 is a large-scale urban redevelopment project completed in 1992.
Yebisu Garden Place is a large-scale development built on the site of a former brewery in Tokyo's Shibuya ward (1990-1994).
This landmark building in Tokyo's Rinkai Urban Subcenter redevelopment district houses the head offices of Fuji Television Network Inc. and Nippon Broadcast System, Ltd. (1993-1996).
A road traversing Tokyo Bay, the Tokyo Wan Aqua Line was completed in 1997, approximately 32 years after initial studies of the huge project and nine years from the start of construction.
Miyagase Dam (Kanagawa Prefecture) is Japan’s largest dam. Construction: 1987-1997
The economic environment for businesses continued to be harsh during the first few years of the 21st century, as new issues arose one after another, including a U.S. economic slowdown, stagnation of the Japanese stock market and problems involving the writing off of bad loans held by Japanese banks. From 2004 onward, while the gentle deflationary trend continued against the backdrop of a global economic recovery, facilities investment in the Japanese private sector grew and exports increased. However, although signs of improved corporate profits started to appear, the underlying trend for construction demand continued to be a downward one. It was in these circumstances that Kajima began proactively expanding into the remodeling, environmental, engineering, and other fields, as well as into PFI projects and real estate securitization. At the same time, Kajima committed to improving its profitability through measures including responding to demand for infrastructure development outside Japan. As projects to symbolize these new initiatives, in 2005 Kajima completed two buildings that serve as international sites for the IT industry: AKIHABARA UDX and Akihabara Daibiru Building. In addition, 2007 saw us complete the new Kajima Head Office Building and reconstruct the Kajima Akasaka Annex, thereby consolidating and reallocating our head office functions.
The Mubarak Peace Bridge (Egypt)—a magnificent cable-stayed bridge inspired by the obelisks memorializing ancient Egypt—connects the African and Asian continents. The bridge itself is 730 meters long, with its main towers rising 156 meters out of the Suez Canal, and it was built by a joint consortium comprising Kajima, NKK and Nippon Steel. Including the elevated bridges on either side of the canal that form the approaches to the Mubarak Peace Bridge, the structure has a total length of 1,850 meters.
Completed in 2001
Tokyo’s Shiodome area, located next to famous districts such as Ginza, Marunouchi and Kasumigaseki, is a prime commercial property location. The Shiodome site is 31 hectares. Most of Shiodome is taken up by the remains of the former JNR Shiodome Freight Terminal, which was closed in 1986. Subsequently, a succession of office buildings and hotels were built on the site. In 2003, Kajima constructed the following buildings in Shiodome: the Matsushita Electric Works Tokyo Headquarters building (now the Panasonic Electric Works Tokyo Headquarters building); the Tokyo head offices of Nippon Express; Shiodome Tower; the Toppan Forms head office building; and the Kyodo News Headquarters Building.
AKIHABARA CROSSFIELD (Tokyo, Japan) is a complex comprising Akihabara Daibiru and Akihabara UDX built in front of the Akihabara Station by NTT Urban Development, DAIBIRU, and Kajima based on the concept of exchanges (crossing) of people and information. It incorporates functions related to industrial-academic collaboration, IT networking and attracting consumers.
Completed in 2005
Kajima’s new headquarters, Kajima Head Office Building and Kajima Akasaka Annex (both in Tokyo, Japan) are cutting-edge office buildings that facilitate working styles for the new age and provide highly advanced workspaces. By consolidating and reallocating the head office functions, which were previously dispersed among the former head office and locations around Tokyo, we increased management efficiency and strengthened inter-departmental co-operation.
Completed in 2007
As part of the refurbishment work being undertaken at the Kajima Technical Research Institute (Tokyo, Japan) to mark the 60th anniversary of its establishment, the institute’s environmental laboratories have been consolidated into its New Laboratory and Main Building. The buildings themselves have become proof-of-concept demonstrations of new technologies and have also had showroom facilities added.
Completed in 2008
From fall 2008 onward, due to the effects of the financial meltdown triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis, the global economy fell into recession. Japan’s economy subsequently plateaued after a period of sustained recovery, partly as a result of the global recession, but also because of the strengthening yen and skyrocketing raw materials prices that led to problems such as increasing uncertainty about corporate profits. This was the background to Kajima’s celebration in 2009 of the 170th anniversary of its establishment.
In 2010, a fourth runway and an international terminal were opened at Tokyo International Airport (often called Haneda Airport), with the objective of taking the first step toward making the airport into a hub for Asian air travel. Kajima was a key member of the joint ventures for both projects, and led the construction for this international project. At the same time, we successfully completed the construction of several landmark projects in Singapore, which has been enjoying favorable economic growth. We have completed phase one of the Marine Bay Financial Centre project, which includes a 52-story tower, a 32-story tower and Resorts World Sentosa, an integrated resort covering a vast 320,000 m2 and that includes three hotels, a casino, a theater, and more.
On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, causing an unprecedented disaster. Immediately after the earthquake, Kajima made concerted efforts as a group for the recovery and restoration of the affected areas, and participated in the disposal of wreckage in the Ishinomaki block of Miyagi prefecture, as well as the planning of decontamination work in Fukushima Prefecture. The disaster made it clear that there is a greater need than ever before for measures such as ensuring structural safety during earthquakes and tsunami, as well as implementing business continuity planning (BCP). Kajima is continuing to push forward with earthquake engineering and other technologies. Furthermore, with the creation of a low-carbon society in mind, we are also steadily working to popularize the use of renewable energy and green building technologies and to realize Zero Energy Buildings (ZEBs). These are designed to reduce the net amount of energy used during their operation to as close as zero as possible through energy saving and the use of renewable energy. In this way, while anticipating future trends over the next hundred years, we are participating in the building of a future society that is safe and that offers a high quality of life.
D Runway, the fourth runway at Tokyo International Airport (also called Haneda Airport), is unusual even in world terms, in that it has been constructed using a hybrid structure comprising a combination of reclaimed land and piers. A key member of the joint venture, Kajima constructed the runaway over a short construction period of 41 months.
Completed in 2010
Resorts World Sentosa is a large-scale integrated resort constructed on Sentosa, an island which lies to the south of Singapore. Kajima constructed the Sentosa Express monorail in the initial phase of the project, and later built three hotels, a casino, a theater, and more.
Completed in 2010
AKASAKA K-TOWER is an ultra-high-rise complex built on the site where the former Kajima headquarters building previously stood. This 30-story tower is centered on leased office space, but also includes leased residences, retail units, and parking. It also has on its grounds open spaces enclosed by greenery, water and sculptures.
Completed in 2012
The work to preserve and restore Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building (Tokyo, Japan) involved constructing a new underground skeleton and faithfully restoring the exterior and interior of the original domes of the station house to their original condition. This undertaking is Japan’s largest project to date involving the retrofitting of a base isolation system to an existing structure while it remained in use.
Completed in 2012
