Overview
- Japan’s Board of Audit examined 74 bridges tied to fiscal 2022–23 contracts and found 51 may not meet current seismic standards.
- Sixteen of the at‑risk installations serve hospitals or evacuation facilities, with some judged vulnerable to collapse in a Great Hanshin‑level earthquake.
- Many designs relied on older seismic criteria or lacked recorded construction dates, and some municipalities proceeded despite known weaknesses for cost or speed.
- None of the 51 locations had secured contingency measures such as water trucks or pumps to maintain service if lines fail after a quake.
- Following the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, MLIT checked pipe resilience but not host bridges, and in September it urged municipalities to verify bridge safety, consider alternate routes, and make improvements.