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# Amendment of the Act on Promotion of Seismic Retrofitting of Buildings (Seismic Retrofitting Promotion Law)

·To prevent the loss of human life and economic damage

In recent years, major earthquakes such as the Niigata Chuetsu-Oki earthquake of July 2007, the Iwate-Miyagi inland earthquake of June 2008, and the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 have occurred and there is growing concern that Japan can experience another large-scale earthquake at any time or place. In addition, possible earthquakes such as the Tokai earthquake, Tonankai and Nankai earthquakes, and the Tokyo metropolitan epicentral earthquake are considered highly likely and once these occur, the destruction will be enormous.

The Central Disaster Prevention Council conducted an estimation of damages regarding large-scale earthquakes that are most likely to occur and is formulating an earthquake disaster prevention strategy to set goals for disaster reduction based on likely damages, etc.

For this disaster prevention strategy the earthquake-proofing of building is one of the most important issues to achieve disaster reduction goals, since it will for the most part halve the number of deaths and the monetary amount of economic losses, so it is positioned as an urgent top priority initiative. Therefore, to promote the earthquake resistance of buildings, the “Seismic Retrofitting Promotion Law” was amended and put into effect on November 25, 2013.

Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (1995)

Source) MLIT

·Main Points of the Amendment

1 Mandatory Seismic Diagnosis and Publishing of Results

For structures built before 1978 based on the so-called old earthquake resistance standards, the owners of architectural structures. that are used by unspecified number of people such as hospitals, stores, and hotels/inns, or that are used by people requiring special considerations for evacuation such as schools, nursing homes, and other facilities. are required by law to conduct earthquake resistance diagnosis and report on the results and also make publicly available the reported earthquake resistance diagnosis results.

2 Promotion of Earthquake Resistance for All Buildings

For the owners of all buildings that do not meet current building standards laws and regulations are newly required to conduct earthquake resistance diagnosis and perform seismic retrofitting to the best of their ability.

3 Relaxing of Certification Standards for Seismic Retrofitting Plans and Exceptions Regarding Certification for Floor-Area Ratio and Building Coverage Ratio

The certification standards for seismic retrofitting plans were relaxed and the scope of renovation works that qualify for certification is no longer limited. Also, depending on the seismic retrofitting construction method used for renovation, there are cases in which the building in question may no longer meet floor-area ratio and building coverage ratio restrictions, therefore in such cases these are considered exceptions and within the scope authorized, a special measure was established to relax floor-area ratios and building coverage ratios.

4 Framework for the Display of Earthquake Resistance

For all buildings, if the building is earthquake resistant, a framework was established to allow for the display of such information in areas visible to users and in advertising if desired.

5 Designating the Need for Seismic Retrofitting of Sectionally Owned Buildings

For sectionally owned buildings designated as requiring seismic retrofitting, the majority decision requirements to implement large-scale seismic