City-Planning Against Natural Disasters: Lessons from Japan

On March 28, 2025, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, causing severe damage in Bangkok, including the collapse of a high-rise building. This incident revealed the structural vulnerabilities of rapidly urbanizing cities such as Bangkok. First, adopting earthquake-resistant building codes, similar to Japan's "Building Standard Act," is essential in areas with high population density and skyscrapers. Second, Bangkok, as the world's top tourist city, faces challenges in crisis communication due to language barriers. A government-managed mobile application providing multilingual alerts, shelter information, and embassy contacts is proposed to assist foreign visitors. Strengthening both infrastructure and communication systems is critical to improving resilience and protecting residents and tourists during future disasters.