As a regular target of earthquakes, due to the nation’s location at the meeting of four tectonic plates, Japan has had to constantly consider and reconsider their building standards in order to minimize damage and preserve lives. Their success in this can be seen from impact of the recent 7.5 magnitude quake that hit central Japan on New Year’s Day. While the most powerful quake to hit the nation in several decades, and comparable in magnitude to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey in 2023, the cost in lives has been significantly less – only around 150 people, as opposed to the more than 50,000 killed in Turkey.
This resilience and robustness in infrastructure is the product of a long line of changes, which began in response to the Yokohama earthquake in 1923, which killed an estimated 140,000 people. Since then, Japan has introduced improved standards, focusing on strengthening urban construction, and mandating that buildings will not collapse during an earthquake of any magnitude. Given the nation sees roughly 1500 earthquakes a year, this continued emphasis on improvement has placed Japan at the forefront of seismic dampening and isolating technology.
Source:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/japan-overhauled-architecture-earthquakes
