The government plans to conduct a survey on key sewage pipes across Japan in response to the road collapse that occurred in January in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

Land minister Nakano Hiromasa told a press conference on March 18 that the investigation will be conducted as a measure to prevent similar incidents and will be carried out in addition to the emergency inspections that have already been conducted.

The gigantic sinkhole in Saitama is believed to have formed due to corrosion and damage of an underground sewage pipe.

The government will allocate about 9.9 billion yen from reserve funds for the nationwide survey.

Subject to checks are pipes with a diameter of 2 meters or more that have been in place for at least 30 years.

The land ministry will ask about 500 municipalities where such pipes exist to report their findings within a year.

Priority will be placed on locations with structures similar to the accident site in Yashio, those prone to corrosion and places that have experienced road collapse in the past, with reports requested by summer.