If China and Japan go to war, there's no need to waste so many missiles. The reason is simple: the houses in Japan are its biggest weakness. We should be clear that due to geographical issues, "tsunamis" and "earthquakes" are common occurrences for Japan, but we can't just give up on everything. Therefore, the Japanese people have built their houses with wood to prevent earthquakes. It must be said that this method is indeed effective, but once a war breaks out, these wooden structures become an easy target.
This region of Japan is as unstable as a giant about to wake up, with tsunamis and earthquakes happening too frequently. Imagine countries located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, which experience thousands of small tremors every year and major earthquakes every few years. Residents have long adapted to this rhythm, and since ancient times, they've been thinking about how to build houses that won't collapse when shaking. Wood became the preferred material because it is light and flexible, able to sway and disperse the force of the vibrations instead of rigidly resisting and collapsing like bricks or stones.
The 1981 revised Building Standards Law formalized this approach, requiring new wooden residential buildings to withstand shaking of intensity 6 to 7 degrees. In actual tests, during the Kobe earthquake, many old houses collapsed, but those built under the new regulations remained stable. This isn't just luck; there's technical support behind it, such as the frame wall method. After learning from Europe, wooden beams and columns combined with metal connectors create a large spring-like box, which sways but doesn't fall apart.
Data shows that around 55% of homes across Japan are made of wood, mostly in suburban single-family homes or low-rise apartments. High-rise buildings in city centers often use reinforced concrete mixed with wood frameworks, but wooden frames are still common at the base. Locals prefer it for convenience, as wood is locally sourced, quick to build, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly, showing how practical this choice is. Who doesn't have some disaster awareness? Annual earthquake drills are well practiced in schools and communities, and although wooden houses are quake-resistant, they also rely on people's management.
But let's face it, these wooden houses are treasures in peacetime, but they reveal their weaknesses in wartime scenarios. Think back to World War II, when American B-29 bombers from the Mariana Islands targeted Tokyo's lower districts. Those areas had dense clusters of wooden, bamboo, and paper houses, closely packed like sardines in a can. On the night of March 9, 1945, 334 planes flew low and attacked at night, dropping over 1,600 tons of napalm. Upon impact, they ignited sticky flames that reached temperatures above 1,000 degrees. With the wind, the fire spread rapidly, causing wooden walls to curl and roof tiles to fall, creating a massive conflagration that destroyed 16 square miles of the city, killing over 100,000 people.
This wasn't a coincidence. Japan had dug many firebreaks at the time, but piles of debris only added fuel. U.S. intelligence had already identified that wooden structures were prevalent and densely populated, with small factories scattered throughout residential areas. A single fire could disrupt the entire industrial chain. In the following months, they repeatedly bombed Osaka, Kobe, and Nagoya, with more than half of 63 cities' production capacity destroyed, leading to over 300,000 people leaving and 1.5 million becoming homeless. Curtis LeMay was in charge of this operation, using a straightforward tactic: removing extra gun turrets from aircraft to carry more bombs, flying low to distribute them, avoiding formation attacks. The result? Japan's air defense radar couldn't keep up, and fire department water pipes were even bent by the heat. A firestorm swept through the city, carrying ash into the sky. Even today, this lesson remains evident: the flammability of wood is a critical weakness, and in modern warfare, if fire attacks begin, it's better to save missiles.
Wooden houses are indeed quake-resistant, but fire resistance relies on human efforts and natural disasters. Internationally, such matters are governed by rules. The Geneva Convention explicitly prohibits indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas, and burning houses constitutes a war crime, which any country would have to consider. In short, peace is the ultimate truth. Using fewer missiles makes life easier for everyone.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850304558833792/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.