One lesson learned from the tragic Great East Japan Earthquake disaster on March 11, 2011, is that hardware alone does not suffice to save the lives of so many people in affected areas.
Technically, higher breakwaters and higher seawalls could be built, using taxpayers' money, if available. But almost nobody had anticipated a tsunami measuring as high as 20 meters would strike. The height of conventional seawalls at the quake-hit areas was 6 to 7 meters at best.
"We should not undermine the importance of disaster prevention hardware. But the consensus being formed today is the mixture of hardware and software measures to reduce risks," acknowledged Yasuhiro Kitakami, chief of the Innovative Information Technology Department of Kozo Keikaku Engineering Inc. in Tokyo.