Illustration of inspectors checking hazard maps near a river embankment and a sloped hillside with retaining walls in rural Japan.

Hazard and disaster risk

2026/10/13

Disaster risk, and what is actually disclosed

Disaster risk, and what is actually disclosed Japanese agents must show you where a property sits on the flood hazard map, and whether it lies in a designated landslide or tsunami alert zone. Liquefaction and earthquake hazard carry no duty to explain at ...

2026/10/13

Japan’s hazard maps: what your broker must show you, and what they don’t

Japan’s hazard maps: what your broker must show you, and what they don’t Since 2020, a Japanese agent has been legally required to show you where a property sits on the flood hazard map. Landslide and tsunami are covered only as to whether a f ...

2026/10/13

What a cheap Japanese house actually costs

2026/10/26

The morning after a typhoon, the damage is not where you are looking

The morning after a typhoon, the damage is not where you are looking You walk around the house. No broken tiles, windows intact, nothing down in the garden. From that you conclude there is no damage. It is the conclusion that costs the most, because Japan ...

2026/10/13

Two dates decide how a Japanese house behaves in an earthquake

Two dates decide how a Japanese house behaves in an earthquake Ask when a Japanese house was built and you are not asking about its age. You are asking which set of structural rules it was built to. After the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, a complete survey of ...

2026/10/22

Owning a house where it snows properly

Owning a house where it snows properly Niseko, Hakuba, Nozawa, the mountains of Nagano and the whole of the Japan Sea coast. Snow is why people want these places, and it is also a structural load, a scheduled cost, and the reason an unattended house there ...