>> My SO is a soils engineer/geo-physicist, so I know a bit about the issues at play
>what's this? PhD by association?
I mean, I did day that I only know a bit about it.
That said, there are differences in the dynamics of the soil between Japan and California; each situation is unique. When it comes to earthquakes, Japan typically has deeper earthquakes due to the subduction zone that it sits above and the earthquakes are compressional(very roughly), while in CA, the earthquakes tend to be shallower along the San Andreas and more strike-slip (again, very roughly) up to 30km down involving mostly the crust. In general, one should not expect that buildings in two different seismic zones should be similar.
>what's this? PhD by association?
I mean, I did day that I only know a bit about it.
That said, there are differences in the dynamics of the soil between Japan and California; each situation is unique. When it comes to earthquakes, Japan typically has deeper earthquakes due to the subduction zone that it sits above and the earthquakes are compressional(very roughly), while in CA, the earthquakes tend to be shallower along the San Andreas and more strike-slip (again, very roughly) up to 30km down involving mostly the crust. In general, one should not expect that buildings in two different seismic zones should be similar.