On January 1 Japan witnessed a severe quake measuring 7.5 in magnitude
Japan doesn't report earthquakes by magnitude, rather it measures how much the ground shakes. The scale goes from 1 to 7.
The New Year's Day quake measured 7, the maximum, on the Japanese scale
In 1923, when a massive quake hit Tokyo it flattened huge areas of the city.
The aftermath led to the drawing up of Japan's first quake-resistant building code.
These buildings are reinforced with steel and concrete. Wooden buildings would need thicker beams.
One of the key features of these buildings is the use of seismic isolation bearings that allows the building to move horizontally during a shake.
Every time Japan has been hit by a large quake, the damage has been studied and the regulations updated by the country.