Earthquakes

You may have seen examples of skyscrapers in Japan with designs that allow them to handle earthquakes and remain intact.  This is not the case for the average Japanese house which has none of these structural advantages.  At the very least, an earthquake can deform a home breaking walls, the timber frame, pipework and much more.  In a more excessive earthquake that house may completely collapse upon you.  There is no way to earthquake proof on older Japanese house other than to knock it down and rebuild it using modern earthquake resistant materials.  If you buy in an area where significant earthquakes are experienced, which is pretty much all of Japan, you can expect to be constantly repairing that building between earthquakes.  You can also expect to be living in fear of when the next disaster will occur.

It can be very difficult if a large number of houses have been affected in the area of your house by an earthquake as trades people are flat out busy and very hard to access.  Furthermore, a lack of building materials can often mean many months before your house is repaired and often just in time for the next earthquake.  If an earthquake damages your pipes which are a common event you may find yourself stuck in a house where you cannot even flush the toilet any more.