Heroic Geekery: Japan's Earthquake Architecture

It has frequently been pointed out that Japan is one of the best-prepared nations in terms of natural disaster preparation.  In a sense, it has to be, as it is sited on a dangerous geological zone prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.  Some while ago, some of my friends did a research project on Japan's earthquake architecture and efforts to design buildings that could withstand tremors, and it was absolutely mind-boggling.  But it paid off.  Look at this video footage of office buildings in Tokyo.  The skyscrapers swayed in the 8.9 quake (one of the biggest ever recorded), but they did not collapse. Utterly amazing.  See, good engineering can and does save lives.  More here.