I don't live in an area prone to earthquakes - nor do I want to - but if I did, I'd want a gadget like this one reported in CNET Asia: it gives you up to 20 seconds of warning before an earthquake strikes, so you have time to turn off the stove and run under a doorway or hide under a table before the quake strikes. The device, made by a company called SunShine, functions better when it's further away from an earthquake's epicenter, where it can pick up the primary (non-destructive) shocks caused by an earthquake and warn you before the secondary (destructive) shocks hit the area. Because of this sensitivity issue, the gadget won't always give you a warning. I don't know what civil litigation law is like in Japan, but I could see a failure like that causing more than a few lawsuits in the US.