Snow clearing on national roads in the Tohoku region of Japan began underdirect control of the national government in 1959. The snow clearing has gradually been put out to contract, with snow clearance equipment lent to contractors by the national government, since the 1970s. Late in the 1970s, regional construction companies took on the work totally, and have played a major part in snow clearing in the region. In 1979, the Tohoku Regional Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Japan (MLIT) started its "Snow removal seminar" together with the Tohoku Branch Office of the Japan Construction Mechanization Association (JCMA), with the aim ofadvancing the technical capability of snow removal workers and to help ensure safety in the work. Over the 24 years, 31,000 people have received education on snow removal techniques. Nowadays the participants in the seminar include a wide range of people who engage in snow removal work, such asthose responsible for road administration and snow removal operators of the local and national governments. The seminar is critically important forimproving the technical capability of those who engage in snow clearing. For the covering abstract see ITRD E143097.
Abstract