Seismic dampers

Japanese company found to have sold defective earthquake dampers for years

Its products are in more than 1,000 buildings across Japan, including high-rise buildings and hospitals.

The Japanese Government says buildings using the defective products are not at risk of collapsing in strong earthquakes — just that they could sway more than expected.

Professor Hiroshi Kawase from the University of Kyoto's Disaster Prevention Research Institute told the ABC that the dampers only activated after a building had absorbed the peak impact of a quake.

He said they were a secondary countermeasure to reduce the sway after a quake hit buildings.