Seismic isolation of civil buildings in Japan

Japan is the country where seismic isolation is most widely used for civil buildings. Since the Hanshin‐Awaji earthquake of 17 January 1995 when the effectiveness of seismic isolation was demonstrated, base‐isolated buildings have become more popular in Japan. This article reviews seismic isolation systems which have been developed and used in Japan, their effectiveness in the earthquake, present applications, guidelines for safety evaluation of base‐isolated buildings, and future developments for seismic isolation.