Road

1. Road (Building Standards Act: Article 42, 43,and 44)

(1) In principle, a building cannot be built unless the property is facing a road classified as such in accordance with the Building Standards Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) for at least 2 meters in length.

• Visit a local office of the specified administrative agency for more information on roads classified as such in accordance with the Act .
•  Note that some of the public roads are NOT classified as roads as per the criteria of the Act.

• Note that depending on the use and scale of the building, the city ordinance might mandate that the property face a road for more than 2 meters. 
• Even if the property does not face a road classified as such as per the Act, a building -- which will pose no  problem with regard to traffic, safety, fire prevention, and sanitation-- may be built by obtaining a permission from the specified administrative agency.

(2) As a general rule, roads 4 meters or less in width are not roads as per the Act. However, in case Chapter 3 of the Act applies, the following are recognized as roads in accordance with the Act: roads that are lined with buildings  and are designated by the specified administrative agency (so-called Section 2 Roads).
*As of November 23rd, 1950, when the Act was enacted, or at the time of incorporation into a city planning area or quasi-city planning area.

Types of roads (at least 4 meters in width)

• 1st Roads (Article 42 Clause 1 of the Act): Roads as per the Act
• 2st Roads (Article 42 Clause 1 of the Act): Roads as per the City Planning Law and the Urban Land Readjustment Law
• 3st Roads (Article 42 Clause 1 of the Act): Roads existing at the time when the provisions of Chapter 3 of the Act came into effect
• 4th Roads (Article 42 Clause 1 of the Act): Roads with a project plan under the Road Act, City Planning Act, etc., which has been designated by the specified administrative agency as the plan scheduled to be executed within two years.
• 5th Roads (Article 42 Clause 1 of the Act): Roads built for the purpose of using the land as a site for buildings without complying with the Road Act, City Planning Act, etc., which have been designated as such by the specified administrative agency.
• Section 2 Roads (Article 42 Clause 1 of the Act): Refer to (2) above.