The 1995 Kobe earthquake extensively damaged bridges and triggered research and review as a consequence of recent earthquakes that have led to significant advances in bridge seismic design. This paper presents how this has affected design philosophy and design codes in Japan compared to seismic design codes in EC, New Zealand, and the United States concerning design philosophy, near-field ground motions, design force and ductility requirements, linear/nonlinear static/dynamic response analysis, and treatment of liquefaction and liquefaction-induced lateral ground movement.