Kajima Corporation has announced that it will make Computing Workshop, which boasts the top domestic market share in tunnel measurement and construction management systems, a wholly owned subsidiary. This is driven by the strategic aim to address the severe labor shortages faced by the construction industry and to dramatically enhance automated construction technologies by internalizing core construction ICT functions.

The full story of wholly owned subsidiary development progressing at an unprecedented pace

Major general contractor Kajima Corporation (hereafter Kajima) announced on July 17, 2026, that it has agreed to acquire all shares of Sensan Kobo Co., Ltd., headquartered in Kyoto City, and to welcome it as a group company. The share transfer agreement was signed on the same date, with the acquisition expected to be completed by the end of August 2026, making the company a wholly owned subsidiary. This acquisition, agreed upon between Kashima’s President Masafumi Kiryu and Sensan Kobo’s President Minoru Hayashi, is not merely an expansion of scale, but aims primarily to highly integrate the technologies and know-how of both companies.

Kajima is currently advancing its medium-term management plan from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2026, within which it has designated 80 billion yen as a “strategic investment allotment.” This acquisition is considered to utilize this investment framework and can be seen as one concrete action aimed at expanding the value chain and promoting innovation. After the acquisition, Sensan Kobo has maintained its current business activities and customer relationships, and has clearly stated its policy to continue providing products and services to other general contractors and clients as before, regardless of the Kajima Group framework. Please refer to the diagram below.

The Journey and Unique Strengths of Tunnel ICT: The Leading Operator of Computing Workshop

Founded in January 2001, Sensan Kobo is a technology group that handles everything from the development of measurement and control systems in the construction and civil engineering fields to on-site implementation. In particular, we have established the top domestic market share in mountain tunnel surveying systems, having accumulated a track record of installations at approximately 3,900 sites both domestically and internationally. The company’s flagship products, the “CyberNATM” series and “ARiGATAYA,” function as the brains of the site to ensure safety and quality in the harsh tunnel construction sites where millimeter-level precision is required.

President Ren Hayashi had a painful failure during his previous engineering career, having to remake 100 meters due to a surveying error, and that experience became the driving force behind the development of automation technologies to prevent human error. The strength of the Computing Workshop lies in its vertically integrated system, where both software and hardware are developed in-house, and engineers well-versed in on-site civil engineering technology support everything from implementation to operation. This ICT solution, rooted in on-site capabilities, is the source of a competitive advantage that competitors cannot match.

A solid financial foundation that a niche top company boasts

As a niche top company with overwhelming market share in specific fields, Yansuan Kobo has built an extremely muscular and sound financial structure. According to data from the 25th fiscal year (around 2025), the equity ratio is an astonishing 78.1%, providing safety far above the average for manufacturing and construction-related industries. Net income for the period was 317 million yen, and the return on total assets (ROA) is high, demonstrating stable profit-generating capability.

Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the balance sheet reveals that current assets amount to 3,351 million yen, accounting for about 77% of total assets, indicating an extremely cash-rich state. Retained earnings, which are internal reserves, have also accumulated to 3,137 million yen, reaching about 40 times the scale of 80 million yen in capital. Such abundant financial resources have enabled not only our ability to respond to unexpected situations but also our ongoing investment in new technology development. For Kajima, this means bringing not only technological synergies but also outstanding companies from a management perspective to the group.

Accelerating Construction DX and Solving Industry Challenges

Integration with Kajima’s automated construction technology ‘A4CSEL’

What Kajima is most focused on in this acquisition is the integration of its own automated construction technology, “A4CSEL,” with the system development capabilities and on-site application capabilities of the commensal workshop. A4CSEL is Kajima’s proprietary advanced technology that automatically operates construction machinery, but to maximize its performance, a measurement and control system that accurately grasps real-time site conditions is essential. By internalizing the four core technologies of Senso Kobo—”Measurement (Scale)”, “Manufacturing (Hardware)”, “Display (Software)”, and “Connecting (Network)”—we can elevate the accuracy and efficiency of automated construction to a new level.

This technological integration will accelerate the construction of systems that fully automate and coordinate everything from shape measurement of excavation cross-sections to positioning of heavy machinery and even placement management in tunnel excavation. Based on its experience as a design and construction company, Kajima has made strengthening value creation for society and customers a core of its medium-term management plan. Incorporating the technology of the commencing workshop as a core function can be seen as a strategic stepping stone to establish the next-generation smart production system. Please refer to the diagram below.

Worsening labor shortages and prescriptions for the ‘2024 problem’

The construction industry is now facing a severe shortage of workers, symbolized by the aging and retirement of skilled technicians and the ‘2024 problem,’ which imposes limits on overtime work. At hazardous sites such as tunnel construction, there is especially high demand for labor-saving and automation, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has promoted “i-Construction 2.0” to strongly promote productivity improvements at construction sites. The automated surveying and control system of the Calculation Workshop enables high-precision construction management without the need for skilled technicians to be stationed, providing a direct solution to this industry challenge.

Through this subsidiary acquisition, Kajima aims to streamline on-site operations using digital technology and pursue a safer, more attractive, and comfortable working environment. By improving the accuracy of automated judgment technology without manual labor and autonomous driving support systems for heavy machinery, we aim to simultaneously reduce labor hours and ensure safety. This is not just a strategy for a single company, but a crucial step toward enhancing the sustainability of the entire construction industry.

From tunnels to earthworks, and then to global expansion prospects

With this acquisition, both companies plan to expand the scope of measurement and construction management systems from their core tunnel field to a wide range of work types, including earthworks. By combining the Kajima Group’s extensive on-site experience with the technical capabilities of the Sansan Kobo, we aim to build a highly versatile new construction management platform. Additionally, by integrating Kansan Kobo’s existing overseas bases in Singapore, Shanghai, and the Philippines with Kajima’s global network, we are also considering expanding overseas business revenue.

In the future, we plan to promote data-driven strategies that involve the entire infrastructure lifecycle, such as building digital twins that transfer detailed 3D data obtained during construction to the maintenance phase. President Hayashi of Sensan Kobo aims to become the “world’s number one in the tunnel industry” and identifies data utilization by analyzing accumulated data to propose new value to customers as the key to growth. This acquisition is expected to further accelerate the movement to systematize Japan’s advanced construction management technologies and export them to infrastructure construction sites worldwide.

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