Disasters and Emergencies in Japan
It's been a while dear readers...
In the last few months that this blog has gone radio-silent, there have been a few upheavals in my life and, most likely, yours.
I changed careers. I quit teaching to pursue working in the travel industry.
I started working in the travel industry at an amazing tour company.
I worked for week and a half.
I became furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, I am back here, with you, armed with loads of time on my hands.
I struggled with whether or not I should start posting on AliのTabi again. The travel advisories erected across the globe are absolutely essential. Travel (especially international) is a non-essential luxury that can produce more harm than good right now. We do not need to travel. We need to stay home.
However, I long to travel. I am waiting for the day that stay-at-home advisories are lifted and the countless destinations that are floating in my head can be tethered to a concrete time and date.
So, allow me to write for you, the person who might be feeling the same way. Allow me to share the things I’ve learned and experienced throughout my time in Japan, and let’s plan our trips together.
What’s on my mind now, is a direct correlation to what’s happening in the world. Much of the free space in my brain is dedicated to thinking about coronavirus (unfortunately), so for the first post back, I’m going to write about disasters and emergencies.
Traveling in Japan (and to an even greater extent, living in Japan) means to come to terms with disasters and emergencies, especially weather-related natural disasters. Japan is a multi-island nation with a geologically young terrain. Throughout the island, there are active volcanoes and fault lines that make the shakes and trembles that come from earthquakes as common as small-talk over dinner (frequent enough, and always a little uneasy). Japan is also in the direct route for seasonal typhoons.
In this blog post, I have gathered resources that will be helpful in preparing you for any emergencies that may arise in your travels within Japan, and also resources that will be useful when you encounter an emergency directly. I have also included a section on COVID-19 specific resources which will be updated as I find new resources.
Disasters and Emergencies in Japan
types of disasters and emergencies
In my six years of living in Japan, I can say that I have either encountered these disasters and emergencies first hand, or I have received an emergency alert about them.
I’ve compiled this list as a point of reference for the emergencies you may encounter.
For my detailed information as to how these disasters and emergencies may manifest and what to do, Matcha has published a detailed article about it in English!
- EARTHQUAKE 地震 (JISHIN)
- TSUNAMI 津波 (TSUNAMI)
- TYPHOON 台風 (TAIFU)
- HEAVY RAINFALL 大雨 (O-AME)
- FLOODING 洪水 (Kozui)
- LANDSLIDE 地滑り (jisuberi)
- HEATSTROKE 熱中症(NECHUSHOU)
- HEAVY SNOW 大雪 (O-YUKI)
- VOLCANO ERUPTION 噴火 (FUNKA)
Resources
Before you go
Safety Tips for Travelers is a website and app produced by the Japan National Tourism Organization. Before you go on your trip to Japan, download the app or give the website a quick read. This is a useful resource because it presents sequences of actions that one should do during a variety of emergencies.
The Disaster Preparedness Manual and App is produced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and is a comprehensive guide to preparing and dealing with different kinds of disasters and emergencies. While it is branded as Tokyo-specific, the manual is very useful in a general sense and applicable to other places in Japan. The information is also presented in a cute and light-hearted manner which makes it an easy read before your trip.
App: no
english and traditional chinese available
Japan Guide’s Travel Alerts and Disaster Updates page is, perhaps, the most comprehensive English resource for tourism-related disaster updates. If there is a disaster or emergency, Japan Guide often provides a list of attraction closures which is useful to check before coming to Japan.
in japan
App: no
multiple languages available
The JMA tracks and provides up-to-date information regarding weather advisories in Japan.I f you are traveling during rainy season (June) or typhoon season (August – September) in Japan, you’ll especially find the JMA weather tracking services useful.
Characterized by the mythical earthquake-causing catfish, the namazu, Yurekuru Call provides early warnings about oncoming earthquakes via push-notifications. You can also use Yurekuru Call to confirm the seismic intensity of the earthquake, and see how people felt the earthquake in real-time. This is a popular app with over 5 million users, so be sure to download it while traveling in Japan!
Pocket Shelter is an app that combines tourism and disaster warnings. It provides tourist information and offline map navigation which during an emergency, it will switch to providing information about emergency evacuation procedures. You can also add emergency contacts and the system will send them e-mails when an emergency occurs.
Keep update to date with news regarding disaster and emergencies in Japan and globally with NHK News. The NHK News app provides breaking news along with notifications about disasters, especially earthquake and tsunamis (emergency information provided only in English and Chinese).
COVID-19 Specific
App: no
JAPANESE, ENGLISH, KOREAN, TRADITIONAL CHINESE, SIMPLIFIED CHINESE
This is the official website for the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare which handles the coronavirus outbreak. Officially, the latest information regarding Japan’s situation and handling of the coronavirus can be found here.
App: no
JAPANESE, ENGLISH, KOREAN, TRADITIONAL CHINESE, SIMPLIFIED CHINESE
The information on this website is Tokyo-specific; however, it is useful in grasping an idea of the situation in Tokyo. This website is also a good portal to keeping up-to-date on efforts that are being taken in Tokyo to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
App: no
JAPANESE AND ENGLISH AVAILABLE
The Japan COVID-19 Coronavirus Tracker is an open-source resource for tracking the outbreak. It provides up-to-date information from all over Japan and also hosts its own repository of useful resources in regards to coronavirus.