Uh-oh, Japan, this is bad

[lars573]

Well in California it's perfectly fine to have a building made from wood. You just have to build with sheer in mind. And in deed the building codes in California require that any material used have an official sheer rating. And that the timber framed building be put together a certain way. I'm sure Kukri would be able to elaborate further. But against a Tsunami it wouldn't matter what you built out of, total mass it what matter then.

The Emperor is worried: http://www.wootly.com/2a1rj9nnwwo6

The Emperor should be. It's his job to worry about the Japanese nation.