In contrast, during a major earthquake in California, buildings are designed to crumple to the ground in a way that will hurt the least amount of people instead of staying upright.
There is a 122 foot tall temple in Japan that was built in 607 C.E. Since it was built, 46 earthquakes with a 7.0 or greater magnitude have struck the country. In a time before modern construction, they used very wide and heavy eaves, disconnected floors, and a shock-absorbing central pillar. The eaves made up at least 50% of the building's width, so rain would fall further from the building and not cause sinking. They act as stabilizers that need a huge amount of inertia to even begin swaying. The floors aren't solidly connected to each other and there are no central load-bearing beams. Instead, they use a huge central column that doesn't actually bear any weight. Sometimes it isn't even touching the ground. It keeps the floors from swaying too much because of its mass. This same technology is still used today throughout the world, like in the Citicorp Tower in New York.
As for the volcanoes, the people of Japan enjoy the many hot springs that pop up near them. They call these onsen (the characters for “warm” and “spring”). I went to one in Sapporo and I recommend going to one if you ever visit Japan. A warning though--in onsen and public baths in Japan, people don't wear anything into the water, not even a bathing suit.
Japan has dealt with the humid and temperate climate by historically building houses made of wood built centimeters off the ground with heavy roofs, as well as doors with a wood frame and translucent paper. Despite this being a fire risk, mold, typhoons, and earthquakes were more pressing matters.
