Decreasing Disaster-Recovery Capacity of Traditional Wooden Houses in Japan

The resilience of communities in Japan has been supported by wooden houses constructed with materials and techniques available locally. However, in recent years, production capacity of wooden houses has been decreasing nationally. Using field surveys and various statistics, we clarify two structural issues: the decline of the production network in communities; and the decrease of materials and technicians. We also study the need for wooden-house production capacity after a disaster, and issues in ordinary times.