How Japan Reduced Deaths From a Major Quake

After deadly tremors a decade ago, Kumamoto built earthquake-resistant buildings and even trained locals in search and rescue. Collapsed houses after the earthquake in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, last week. By River Akira Davis and Hisako Ueno Reported from across Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan. When a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted southwestern Japan last week, its force mirrored the kind of seismic shocks capable of flattening cities and claiming hundreds or even thousands of lives. Yet across the island of Kyushu, the violent shaking destroyed or heavily damaged just a few hundred buildings.

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