Third of Japan schools vulnerable to quake

Tokyo, June 9: Over a third of Japanese public elementary andjunior high school buildings are unable to withstand earthquakes, aneducation ministry research in one of the world's most quake-pronecountries has found.

The report released yesterday said 34.8 per cent of 129,559 schoolbuildings were not quake-resistant. The figure excludes 8,595 buildingsthat had yet to be checked as of April 1.

The report also found that of the total, 4,328 buildings were at risk of collapsing when struck by a strong earthquake.

The ministry said it would check the remaining buildings and startre-construction on vulnerable ones as soon as possible, adding that thesafety of school buildings was important since many were earmarked asevacuation centres in times of disaster.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's mostseismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 per cent ofthe world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

REUTERS>