After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Japanese government concluded that their tsunami shelter guidelines were insufficient.  Only now are they issuing the new guidelines!

The government study of tsunami shelter construction in Japan, revealed that such shelters would not hold up to a tsunami similar to the one that occurred in the Indian Ocean.  On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit with such a tsunami.

The new guidelines (developed before the 2011 tsunami) recommend the use of stronger building foundations, among other things.