Application of piled raft foundations for buildings is increasing in Japan. However, seismic design of piled raft foundations has not fully been established. In case of a high-rise building, the foundation is subjected to relatively large magnitudes of cyclic horizontal load and overturning moment due to winds. This paper first introduces the current design philosophy for piled raft foundations in Japan, and then reviews the experimental works on piled raft foundations subjected to static and dynamic lateral loading, and presents the field monitoring of piled raft foundations during sever earthquakes. Finally, key aspects in design of piled raft foundations subjected to lateral loading are implied.