The Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (January 17, 1995) clearly demonstrated that the occurrence of very strong ground motion in the area near to the seismic fault is capable of causing severe structural damage beyond general estimation. It has emphasized the importance of earthquake engineering research into why and how structures collapse in real earthquake conditions. Considering the lessons learnt from recent earthquake disasters, NIED plan to construct a “3-D Full-Scale Earthquake Testing Facility (“E-Defense” is the nickname of this facility)”, which will be able to simulate the processes of destruction of structures under the condition of real strong earthquake motions.