Retrofitting older buildings in Nagoya is taking longer than anticipated. A major change to earthquake building codes was enacted in June 1981, with buildings with construction planning certificates issued before this date referred to as ‘kyu-taishin’, or old earthquake resistance, and those after this date referred to as ‘shin-taishin’, or new earthquake resistance. In many cases, these older buildings need retrofitting to bring them up to current standards, but this is not a simple task.