Kajima Corporation is one of the oldest and largest construction companies in Japan. Founded in 1840, the company has its headquarters in Motoakasaka, Minato, Tokyo. The company is known for its DIB-200 proposal. The company stock is traded on four leading Japanese stock exchanges and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225stock index. Kajima's services include design, engineering, construction, and real estate development. Kajima builds high-rise structures, railways, power plants, dams, and bridges. Its subsidiaries are located throughout Asia, Oceania, Europe, and North America. A downturn in the construction industry during the latter half of the 1990s prompted Kajima to expand its operations to the environmental sector, specifically waste treatment, water treatment, soil rehabilitation, and environmental consulting.
History
1840 - Iwakichi Kajima, the founder of the present-day company begins carpentry business in Edo
1860 - Kajima pioneers first western-style building in Yokohama
1880 - Establishes Kajima Gumi
1899 - Railway construction projects begin in Korea and Taiwan
2011 - The company completed the construction of the Dubai Metro
Demolition Technology
The Kajima Corporation developed a building demolition technique that involves using hydraulic jacks to demolish a building one floor at a time. This method is safer, and allows for a more efficient recycling process. In the Spring of 2008, the Kajima Corporation used this technique to demolish a 17-story and 20-story building, recycling 99% of the steel and concrete and 92% of the interior materials in the process.
Film backing
The Kasumigaseki Building, built by Kajima, is the main subject of the film Chōkōsō no Akebono, which was backed by Kajima.
Scandal
On March 2, 2018, the head of a division at Kajima was arrested by an investigative team from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of having violated the Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade in connection with bidding for the Chūō Shinkansen maglev line. On March 23, the Fair Trade Commission issued a criminal indictment against both the head of the division and Kajima Corporation.