Capacity Development on

decentralized wastewater

management in Japan

Dr. Takeshi YAHASHIJapan Education Center of Environmental Sanitation (JECES)

25th February, 2021

Technical Seminar on Decentralized Wastewater Management

in Vientiane Capital,

Lao people’s Democratic Republic

Framework of Johkasou Act

Qualifications related to Johkasou construction

o Certified Johkasou Installation Worker (certified persons: 88,518)

This qualification is for the supervisor of Johkasou installation in situation. Who want this

qualification must pass a national exam administered by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure,

Transport and Tourism (MLIT), or pass a performance qualification test for plumbing work and

construction management based on the Construction Business Act, and then complete a

training course conducted by an agency designated by the Minister of the Environment and

the Minister of MLIT.

o Registered Johkasou Construction Vendor (registered companies: 27,099)

Those who want to run a Johkasou construction business must be registered by the

prefectural governor, and must have certified Johkasou Installation Worker at each office.

o Technical standards for septic tank construction (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport

and Tourism Ordinance / Ministry of the Environment Ordinance)

Precautions for each process of Johkasou construction and operation confirmation of

attached equipment are stipulated.

Note: The number of qualified persons and businesses companies are current as of the end of March 2019

Standard framework of the operation and

maintenance of Johkasou

Details of Operation, Maintenance and

Inspection of Johkasou

o Technical standards for O&M (Johkasou Enforcement Regulations, Article 2)

"Maintenance items" and "Adjustment/repair items" are stipulated for every Johkasou unit

and auxiliary devices.

To prevent the functional depression of the Johkasou, the standards also stipulate the

"timing of the desludging" so that cleaning must be carried out as soon as possible if certain

conditions are detected.

Requirement for operations and maintenance

of Johkasou

o Technical standards for desludging (Johkasou Enforcement Regulations, Article 3)

Standards for desludging stipulate the implementation method to be carried out during

desludging by each unit and auxiliary device (e.g. methods for discharging the sludge).

o Guidelines for operations and maintenance (official notice)

This guideline is issued by Ministry of the Environment as a specific guidance for

operations and maintenance of Johkasou which is designed to ensure the appropriate

maintenance, inspections, and desludging are carried out optimally according to the each

characteristics of treatment method.

Qualification for operations and maintenance

of Johkasou (part 1)

o Certified Johkasou Operator (certified persons: 84,843)

This is a qualification for implementation of the maintenance and inspection of the Johkasou.

Maintenance and inspections must be carried out only by a Certified Johkasou Operator.

To be a Certified Johkasou Operator, must either pass a national exam administered by the Ministry

of the Environment (MOE), or complete a training course conducted by an agency designated by MOE.

o Registered Johkasou Maintenance Vendor (registered companies: 12,345)

Ordinances demand for the vendors to establish a system to carry out the maintenance and

inspections in order to register to the prefectural governor.

The ordinance defines other criteria for the system, including registration requirements, registration

cancellation, and so on.

o Certified Johkasou Technical Supervisor

Johkasou serving for 501 or more population equivalents must need a "Certified Johkasou Technical

Supervisor" in order to handle the technical tasks associated with maintenance, inspections, and

cleaning.

Note: The number of qualified persons and businesses companies are current as of the end of March 2019

Qualification for operations and maintenance

of Johkasou (part 2)

o Approved Johkasou Cleaning Vender (certified companies: 5,412)

Johkasou cleaning vendors must be registered by the municipal mayor. Excess sludge

discharged by cleaning must be treated according to legal stipulations in the “Waste Disposal

and Public Cleansing Law”.

o Johkasou desludging technician

Johkasou desludging technician has specialized knowledge and skills regarding

desludging of Johkasou and has more than two years of practical experience.

o Agencies authorized to carry out legal inspections

There are 66 designated inspection agencies certified by prefectural governors to carry out

legal inspections. To be certified, an agency must have expert knowledge of Johkasou

inspections and inspectors with the requisite skills and at least two years inspection

experience.

Note: The number of qualified persons and businesses companies are current as of the end of March 2019

Those who intend to engage in the construction, maintenance, desludging, inspection of Johkasou, must take a course to become a technically qualified person who has the specialized knowledge necessary to carry out their respective duties.

Training institution (Japan Education Center of Environmental Sanitation) designated by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Minister of the Environment will carry out these training program.

The technical qualifications related to Johkasou system are as following; Johkasou Operator, Johkasou Installation worker, JohkasouTechnical Supervisor, Johkasou desludging technician, Johkasouinspector

Training courses for the technical qualification

related to the Johkasou system

○ Objectives of the trainingA course to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills regarding Johkasou

construction based on the qualification system of “Johkasou Installation worker” who is the qualification of the person who actually supervises the Johkasou installation stipulated by Johkasou Act.

○ Contents of the training

Training course for qualifying Johkasou

Installation Worker

Title of the contents hours Main topics

①Fundamental of

Johkasou

8 ・ Conservation of living environment

・ Basic knowledge of wastewater treatment physics, chemistry and biology

・ Basic knowledge about water quality

・ Principle of wastewater treatment

②Laws and regulations

related with Johkasou

3 ・ Current status of domestic wastewater treatment and the spread of

Johkasou

・ Johkasou Act and other laws related to Johkasou

③Structure and function

of Johkasou

15 ・ Planning and design method related to Johkasou

・ Structure and function of structural-standard-type Johksou and

performance-evaluation-type Johkasou

④Management of

Johkasou installation

8 ・ Johkasou installation procedure

・ Structure and function of Johkasou accessories

⑤Introduction to O&M and

desludging of Johkasou

3 ・ Overview of johkasou maintenance and desludging

Total 37

○ Objectives of the trainingA course to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills regarding the maintenance

and inspection of Johksou based on the qualification system of “Johkasou Operator”, which is the qualification of those who engage in the maintenance and inspection work of Johksou as stipulated by Johkasou Act.

○ Contents of the training

Training course for qualifying Johkasou

Operator

Title of the contents hours Main topics

①Fundamental of Johkasou 8 ・ Same with Training course for qualifying Installation Worker

②Laws and regulations related with Johkasou

4 ・ Same with Training course for qualifying Installation Worker

③Structure and function of Johkasou

22 ・ Planning and design method related to Johkasou・ Structure and function of structural-standard-type Johksou and

performance-evaluation-type Johkasou・ Structure and function of Johkasou accessories

④Introduction to installation of Johkaso

4 ・ How to read the Johkasou drawing and construction procedure

⑤Operation and maintenance of Johkasou

30 ・ Inspection method of Johkasou maintenance and inspection and itssignificance, evaluation method of processing function

・ Measures against sanitary pests and odors generated in johkasou⑥Water quality management of Johkasou

10 ・ Measurement method of water quality items and its significance

⑦Introduction to desludging of Johkasou

2 ・ Desludging method of Johkasou and its significance

Total 80

○ Training course for qualifying Johkasou Technical SupervisorsThe course to train those who are recognized to have the same or higher

knowledge and skills as a person who has a qualification as a Johkasou Operator

and has more than two years of practical experience in technical work related to

maintenance, inspection and desludging of johkasou with a scale of 501 PE or

more.

○ Training course for qualifying Johkasou Desludging techniciansThe course to train the people with specialized knowledge and skills related to

Johkasou desludging.

○ Training course for qualifying Johkasou Inspection

The course to train the people with specialized knowledge and skills regarding

Johksou inspection, which are required designated condition for the designated

inspection organizations.

Other training programs

Follow-up for Johkasou technicians and

Continuous Professional Development⚫ To support the Johkasou technicians by providing updated technical information about

Johkasou, and give them appropriate advices on Johkasou O&M.

⚫ Publication of monthly journal “JOHKASOU” and books related Johkasou technology/ administration

⚫ Holding a national conference on Johkasou technology, Johkasou technicians and other stake-holders coming together for exchanging information and discussing issues on Johkasou businesses.

⚫ Seminar courses for CPD of Johkasou technicians

Special seminar for Johkasou desludging workers

Special seminar on installation management of Johkasou

Special seminar on O&M of compact type Johkasou

Special seminar on desludging practice of compact type Johkasou

Summarize

• Because Johkasou are small-scale, decentralized waste treatment facilities, it

cannot be managed by resident management, they are regulated on multiple

levels—structure, construction, installation, maintenance inspections, cleaning,

and legal inspection—in order to ensure the proper treatment function.

• Under the Johkasou Act, it is defined that the responsibilities and obligations of

whom involved in Johkasou installation, operations, maintenances, and thus

establish the identification of each qualifications and certification.

• The Johkasou Act also stipulate a training system for Certified Johkasou

Installation Worker, Certified Johkasou Operator, and a variety of other

Johkasou-related technicians.

• The Japan Johkasou Training Center (the predecessor to JECES) has trained

the Johkasou technicians for over half a century since it was established in

1966, serving as a Japan’s only educational organization for Johkasou

technicians.

WWW. JECES.OR.JP