Japan Road Contractors Association (JRCA)
The Japan Road Contractors Association (commonly known as the Dohkenkyo) was founded in 1945, and since then it has been engaged in a wide variety of activities dedicated to the improvement and promotion of road construction and maintenance activities in Japan.
　After the end of the Second World War, the roads in Japan were in a terrible state. Few paved roads remained, and those that did were paved with only the most basic of paving, which was easily damaged. Other roads were mere gravel paths.
As developments were made to incorporate modern road paving techniques, with the focus remaining on basic paving techniques, initial and subsequent reconstructions were carried out on national highways, as well as on other routes, express highways were constructed, and repairs and improvements were made on already paved roads. Throughout this process, our association adapted road technologies from developed Western countries such as the US and European countries, added individual and unique functions to these technologies, and thus played a part in the promotion of road construction and maintenance in post-war Japan. It would be no exaggeration to claim that the history of our association is almost the same as the history of road construction within post-war Japan.
　This association has undertaken activities based on the three fundamental principles of ‘the promotion of road maintenance,’ ‘the improvement of road construction technology,’ and ‘the steady development of the road construction industry,’ together with the support of 290 leading road contractors throughout Japan, and coordinated through our 10 offices throughout the country. Now, as well as tackling such issues as the promotion of the construction of a network of high-spec roads, the demographic changes accompanying the falling birthrate in our increasingly aging society, and the establishment of road network functions that can support of increasingly information focused society, we are occupying ourselves with the development of new technologies, new construction methods, and new materials designed to achieve ‘safe paving,’ ‘environmentally friendly paving,’ and ‘lifelong paving.’ Further, we are looking to answer the diverse needs of the Japanese public whilst maintaining a focus on reducing total costs, providing high quality products at a low price.
