Tag - disaster-preparedness

 
Menu
Search
 
July 09, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

Sendai Station is crowded with people Monday after the Tohoku shinkansen line suspended operation following a powerful earthquake off the Sanriku coast.
JAPAN / Explainer
Apr 21, 2026
How to prepare when Japan is under an earthquake advisory
Authorities in Japan are urging residents from Hokkaido to Chiba Prefecture to be ready in case a major earthquake strikes, following Monday’s magnitude 7.7 jolt.
An electronic board displays a subsequent earthquake advisory in Iwate Prefecture on Tuesday, a day after a magnitude 7.7 temblor struck off the Tohoku coast.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Apr 21, 2026
Why did a big earthquake strike the Tohoku region again?
Monday’s temblor struck off the coast of the Tohoku region, which experienced the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
An official from the Japan Meteorological Agency speaks about the powerful quake that hit northern Japan at a news conference in Tokyo Monday evening.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2026
Japan issues rare special advisory over chance of more powerful quake
The government issued the advisory to residents of 182 municipalities from Hokkaido to Chiba, urging them to be ready to evacuate at any moment.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings resumed commercial operations of reactor No. 6 at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture on Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2026
Tepco resumes commercial operations at Niigata plant for first time in 14 years
The restart of reactor No. 6 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant comes roughly 50 days later than scheduled.
The disaster management agency, which would serve as the government’s command center for disaster prevention and response, will be created through the reorganization and strengthening of the Cabinet Office’s disaster management division.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2026
Parliament begins debate on bill to create disaster management agency
The new agency, aimed to be launched this autumn with its headquarters in Tokyo, would serve as the government’s command center for disaster prevention and response.
Shunichi Koshimura, director of Tohoku University's International Research Institute of Disaster Science, speaks during a news conference in Sendai on Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2026
Tohoku University and SoftBank to develop disaster prevention AI tech
The joint project aims to use generative artificial intelligence to pass on memories and lessons from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
A woman walks on a beach against the backdrop of Japan Coast Guard ships docked at a port in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2026
First field evacuation drill planned for remote Okinawan islands
The January drill will include both tabletop exercises and field training, according to a government report.
If the timeline for constructing an anti-terrorism facility is eased, the No. 6 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture is expected to see their deadline delayed to April 2031 from September 2029.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2026
Japan eases timeline for creating nuclear plant anti-terrorism facilities
Out of the 12 reactors across the nation for which anti-terrorism facilities have been completed, only one met the deadline.
Japan Innovation Party policy chief Alex Saito (left) and Ichiro Miyashita, a Lower House member of the Liberal Democratic Party, speak to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 1, 2026
LDP and JIP agree to drop special ward requirement for secondary capital
The move opens up the role to prefectures other than just Osaka.
Mount Fuji seen from central Tokyo in February 2025. The government is discussing measures to deal with volcanic ash falling in the Tokyo metropolitan area in the event of an eruption.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2026
Cabinet Office and Tokyo government prepare for Mount Fuji eruption risk
Council members will discuss how to maintain the functions of railways, roads and communications networks, and how to secure goods transport systems.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends the House of Councilors plenary session at parliament on Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2026
Japan to designate more underground emergency shelters
The government wants to make maximum use of underground spaces, which are safer, to protect people in case of military attacks.
Jin Sato, former mayor of the town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture, speaks during an interview in December in front of the remains of the town's former disaster management office building.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 23, 2026
Jin Sato, former mayor of tsunami-hit Minamisanriku, shares lessons across Japan
Sato served as mayor of the town in Miyagi Prefecture for 20 years, but since stepping down in November has been delivering lectures on disaster preparedness and mitigation.
The new service starting April 1 that aims to keep communication infrastructure operational following emergencies such as disasters will be free to use and not require prior registration.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2026
Major phone carriers to launch ‘Japan Roaming’ for use in disasters
The aim of the new service is to ensure the communication infrastructure essential for life and economic activities remains operational during emergencies such as disasters.
Tadayuki Sato, representative director of the Phase Free Association, has introduced the "phase-free" concept in a bid to seamlessly integrate disaster preparedness with everyday life and business operations.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 19, 2026
‘Phase-free’ design builds disaster preparedness into everyday life
The Phase Free Association now operates a certification system for products that integrate disaster preparedness with everyday life and business operations.
Residents take part in a tsunami evacuation drill using an app to register their evacuation in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, in November 2025.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 12, 2026
Tohoku still faces tsunami evacuation challenges 15 years after disaster
The region is facing a series of challenges to prepare for any future tsunami evacuation, such as trying to encourage people to use an app to register at evacuation sites.
Children listen to stories of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami told by a local resident in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 11, 2026
Some disaster-hit regions struggle to pass down lessons to younger generation
Logistics and costs are among the hurdles faced in conducting disaster education for younger people with little or no memory of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Koji Yamaguchi, a teacher at Rokko Gakuin Junior and Senior High School in Kobe, shows in January a picture of a beach in Shichigahama, Miyagi Prefecture, which was affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2026
Teacher in Japan who experienced two disasters works to pass down memories
The Kobe teacher’s central message to his students is the importance of “everyday life before the disaster.”
Members of the Self-Defense Forces search for missing people in the wake of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Higashimatsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2026
Lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake
The long-term consequences of disasters are often understudied once media attention shifts to newer crises elsewhere.
In a survey from the Japanese Red Cross Society, 80.3% of respondents said the Great East Japan Earthquake should not be forgotten when considering disaster preparedness measures and awareness.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 9, 2026
Over 80% in Japan believe a major disaster is coming in the near future
Many admit to being unprepared for one, however.
Takao Makino, the minister in charge of preparations for the establishment of Japan's disaster management agency, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 6, 2026
Cabinet approves bill to create disaster management agency
The government aims to launch the agency, which will be headed by the prime minister and also have a dedicated minister, in autumn.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Long-stalled maglev line finally gets green light from Shizuoka Prefecture
Environmental concerns relating to the construction of Central Japan Railway’s high-speed maglev line had contributed to years of delays for the project.
Violence toward ambulance crews in Tokyo higher in 2025 and rising this year
A bloodstained helmet worn by an ambulance crew member who became involved in a case of violent abuse against the crew
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI
Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER