ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the questions and explores measures that should be put in place to prevent similar carnage following the next massive earthquake that will surely strike Japan in the future. Many of the failures of law manifested by the Tohoku Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown are rooted in the fundamental character of law in Japan: "bureaucratic law." Laws are drafted by government bureaucrats and enforced by bureaucrats with the political approval of the legislature. The demanding construction standards set by the Construction Standards Act once again prevented a significant amount of collateral damage to property and human life. In 2012, the Diet passed an amendment to the Basic Act on Disaster Countermeasures that intensified the cooperation between the central government, prefectures and municipal governments. The central government's Central Disaster Prevention Council also published a final report on the estimated degree of casualties and damages that would result from a future Kanto Earthquake.
