Japan sits on four tectonic plates along the Ring of Fire, making earthquakes an unavoidable reality — the country logs around 1,500 noticeable tremors a year. Building codes have evolved since a devastating 1923 quake, but Japan's solution is mostly still a work in progress, and no single-point answer is yet on the horizon. There remains much to learn, and more needs to be done to develop strong government-public coordination and understanding.