Contractor of Tilting Condos Accept Responsibility and Apologize

TOKYO, JAPAN - JAN. 13: The prime contractor Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co., which failed to properly oversee the subcontractors and instruct them to correct problems or report them to the authorities, was banned from receiving orders from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for one month from Wednesday. "I apologize from the bottom of my heart for causing worry and trouble among many people involved," Sumitomo Mitsui Construction President Hideo Arai told a press conference, his first since the scandal came to light last year. Arai also vowed to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of residents living at the Yokohama condominium complex at the heart of the data falsification scandal.