General Contractor
The term “general contractor” in Japan is a general term for construction companies.
Construction companies are broadly classified into two categories: prime contractors (construction companies), which are directly contracted by the client (owner), and subcontractors (construction companies), which partially construct the work contracted by the prime contractor. The former is called a general contractor and the latter a subcontractor.
Even if a subcontractor constructs most of the contracted work as a subcontractor, if it is directly contracted by the client (owner) for the entire work, it becomes the main contractor, and in that case its position is that of a general contractor, not a subcontractor.
The characteristic of a general contractor is that it undertakes construction work from the client as the main contractor, subcontracts necessary work partially to subcontractors and specialized construction companies, and completes the contracted work by coordinating and managing the entire construction work at the construction site. According to the annual securities reports of the 21 major listed general contractors, subcontracting costs account for an average of 66% of the general contractor cost breakdown (as of March 2021).
In addition, given that the majority of construction projects in Japan are contracted under “Lump Sum Contracts,” in which no additional payment is required from the client even if the actual cost of construction exceeds the contracted amount, unless the contract conditions change due to design changes or other reasons after the contract is signed, it is not surprising that general contractors are taking risks such as rising material prices and labor costs to undertake construction projects. One of the main characteristics of general contractors is that they undertake construction work while managing cost, construction period, quality, and risk.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), the annual market size of general contractors in Japan in FY2020 is approximately 52.38 trillion yen on a volume basis.
General contractors are broadly classified into super general contractors (the five largest companies), semi-major general contractors, mid-sized general contractors, and other general contractors, depending on the size of the company.
Although there is no clear definition of this classification, in general, general contractors with sales (non-consolidated) of more than 1 trillion yen are often classified as super general contractors, those with sales of more than 300 billion yen as semi-major general contractors, and those with sales of more than 100 billion yen as mid-sized general contractors.
Japan’s super general contractors, semi-major general contractors, medium-sized general contractors, and other major general contractors are shown in the list below.
List of Japan’s super general contractors (five major companies)
Five super general contractors with non-consolidated sales of more than 1 trillion yen
| Company | Sales (in trillions JPY) | Number of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Shimizu Corporation | 1.25 | 10,494 |
| Obayashi Corporation | 1.23 | 9,754 |
| Kajima Corporation | 1.19 | 9,859 |
| Taisei Corporation | 1.14 | 9,789 |
| Takenaka Corporation | 0.97 | 8,042 |
| Total of 5 super GCs | 5.79 | 47,938 |
| Average of 5 super GCs | 1.16 | 9,588 |
Source: Compiled based on each company’s annual securities report and financial statements (as of March 31, 2021) Values are based on each company’s “non-consolidated” figures.
List of semi-major general contractors in Japan
10 semi-major general contractors with non-consolidated sales generally exceeding 300 billion yen
| Company | Sales (in billions JPY) | Number of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Haseko Corporation | 563.3 | 3,249 |
| Toda Corporation | 461.4 | 4,160 |
| Penta-Ocean Construction Co.,Ltd. | 445.1 | 4,889 |
| Fujita Corporation | 379.2 | 3,264 |
| Maeda Corporation | 366.1 | 3,635 |
| Kumagai Gumi Co.,Ltd. | 360.2 | 2,620 |
| Hazama Ando Corporation | 332.9 | 3,434 |
| Nishimatsu Construction Co., Ltd. | 328.3 | 2,762 |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co., Ltd. | 322.2 | 5,263 |
| Tokyu Construction Co., Ltd. | 216.2 | 2,777 |
| Total of 10 semi-major GCs | 3775.0 | 36,053 |
| Average of 10 semi-major GCs | 377.5 | 3,605 |
Source: Compiled based on each company’s annual securities report and financial statements (as of March 31, 2021) Values are based on each company’s “non-consolidated” figures.
List of mid-sized general contractors in Japan
11 medium-sized general contractors with non-consolidated sales generally exceeding 100 billion yen
| Company | Sales (in billions JPY) | Number of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Konoike Construction Co., Ltd. | 259 | 1,855 |
| Okumura Corporation | 216 | 2,530 |
| Toa Corporation | 181 | 1,631 |
| Tekken Corporation | 178 | 2,132 |
| Toyo Construction Co., Ltd. | 155 | 1,499 |
| Asanuma Corporation | 137 | 1,278 |
| Totetsu Kogyo Co., Ltd. | 124 | 1,848 |
| Daiho Corporation | 122 | 1,035 |
| Fukuda Corporation. | 117 | 913 |
| Tobishima Corporation | 108 | 1,317 |
| Zenitaka Corporation | 106 | 1,009 |
| Total of 11 semi-major and mid-sized GCs | 1,702 | 17,047 |
| Average of 11 semi-major and mid-sized GCs | 155 | 1,550 |
Source: Compiled based on each company’s annual securities report and financial statements (as of March 31, 2021) Values are based on each company’s “non-consolidated” figures.
List of other major general contractors in Japan
19 major general contractors with non-consolidated sales of less than 100 billion yen
| Company | Sales (in billions JPY) | Number of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| P.S. Mitsubishi Construction Co., Ltd. | 105.9 | 1,110 |
| Dai Nippon Construction Co., Ltd. | 91.2 | 944 |
| Yahagi Construction Co., Ltd. | 90.1 | 845 |
| Raito Kogyo Co., Ltd. | 89.9 | 1,139 |
| Asunaro Aoki Construction Co.,Ltd. | 89.5 | 926 |
| Takamatsu Corporation Co., Ltd. | 89.4 | 1,748 |
| Shinnihon Corporation | 89.4 | 434 |
| Ichiken Co.,Ltd. | 88.6 | 640 |
| Wakachiku Construction Co., Ltd | 87.1 | 856 |
| Meiko Construction Co.,Ltd | 86.8 | 1,195 |
| Matsui Kensetsu K.K. | 84.9 | 741 |
| Nakano Corporation | 79.7 | 729 |
| Kitano Construction Corporation | 73.4 | 515 |
| Ohmoto Gumi Co., Ltd. | 73.4 | 872 |
| Seibu Construction Co., Ltd. | 68.6 | 770 |
| Fudo Tetra Corporation | 65.8 | 791 |
| Daisue Construction Co., Ltd. | 54.7 | 589 |
| Ueki Corporation | 43.8 | 612 |
| Kabuki Construction co.,ltd . | 30.5 | 378 |
| Total of other 19 GCs | 1,482.8 | 15,834 |
| Average of other 19 GCs | 78.0 | 833 |
Source: Compiled based on each company’s annual securities report and financial statements (as of March 31, 2021) Values are based on each company’s “non-consolidated” figures.
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