Japan has 127,164 publicly run schools. Of those, 43,109 or 33.9% predate the current building code. What that means is that they could not withstand an earthquake such as the one that recently hit Iwate and Miyagi prefectures.
"Teacher. If there is an earthquake, should we stand under a doorpost, get under the desks or what?"
"Kids, run out of the building as fast as you can. And watch out for splits in the ground."
About 8.4% require urgent refortifcation (10,656 schools.)
With an eye towards the recent massive earthquake in China, Japanese local authorities are stepping up efforts to fortify those 10,000 schools.
With the decline in the birthrate in Japan, over time there will be less schools needing fortification.
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