Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi reaffirmed on X that the Northern Territories are Japan's inherent territory historically and under international law.
Japanese bridge design prioritizes minimizing deaths and major damage in disasters over making structures unbreakable.
Engineers deliberately plan failure points and deformation modes.
After the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji earthquake, “fall-prevention devices” were added to the Road Bridge Specifications so bridge decks/beams won’t completely drop even if damaged—exactly why the bridge deck here was wrecked but stayed in place instead of collapsing to the ground.