Unique houses survive quake in Japan village thanks to architectural design

A picture taken on Jan 6 showing houses in Akasaki village, Ishikawa prefecture after a major 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Noto region on New Year’s Day. Photos: Philip Fong/AFP

The New Year’s Day earthquake demolished wooden buildings all across Japan’s Noto Peninsula but thanks to decades-old smart architecture, one small fishing village stood strong.

A few roof tiles came loose but not one of around 100 structures in windswept Akasaki, on the stick of land’s western coast, collapsed in the magnitude 7.5 quake whose epicentre was just a few kilometres away.