Earthquake Survival Products in Japan

1 Feb 2006 Category: Features, Japan, Products

Earthquake Survival Products in Japan

at DIY store. whole corner was distributed to display antiearthquake goods. This particular display is about emergency foods.

Japan is a nation that experiences many earthquakes and it’s something of a commonly accepted fact that a big earthquake will hit the Kanto region (where Tokyo is) in the not-too-distant future. Government surveys say that if a large inland tremor occurs in the Tokyo area, approximately 13′000 deaths and 5 to 7 million evacuees are expected - and over 2 million people will be forced to live in emergency shelters up to one month from the earthquake, depending on the season and time of day that it happens. Scary…. However, as a person who decided to live in Tokyo, I’d better prepare for it instead of being all sad about it. Well, it turns out I am not the only one who suffers from this fear. It seems there are tons of people who feel same way, because Earthquake Survival Products sell very well!

Written by Kyoko

Firstly, there is a big market for books. Every time I see headlines like, “look out for mid-February” or “X day is soon!” in tabloid papers, I get so angry rather than worried. “Give us something we can use, please!”. Of course there are many survival manuals, too. Last year, some educational publishers released a map book, describing how to get home safely when disasters occur. This map shows the location of amenities you’ll need in survival situations such as public lavatories, playgrounds where water is available, hospitals, streets that are expected to be closed and so on (by the way, I found some stories about one guy who actually tired to walk home from his office with the help of this book. It is very interesting….but, sorry it’s Japanese only!). Another popular, yet very unique book is called 51 ways to protect your girlfriend. The story goes like this, one day a big earthquake hits when you are dating in the downtown area. You have to protect your girlfriend. And the book tells you what to do according to the situations.


from left to right. 51 Ways to Protect Your Girl Friend and The map book: how to get home

books about quake-absorbing structure, and earthquake-resistant building

There is also a massive selection of earthquake survival goods other than books. In fact, when notable earthquakes hit some areas in Japan, (which is rather frequent) DIY shops in Tokyo feature earthquake survival goods in center of the store the very next day . One of the most interesting among them is is the “emergency bag.” This is either a bag or a box and is something you should bring in case of a disaster. The contents are varied by maker and price, but most of them include stuff like, emergency foods, radio with an electric generator, flashlight, candles, lighter, cotton work gloves, big plastic bags, adhesive tape, face guard mask, whistle, towel, first-aid kit, cellophane wrap and blanket. There are even very fashionable emergency bags, such as a black bag by MUJI and a girly pink bag. You can also make your own emergency bag yourself.


emergency bag by MUJI

pink bag called “girls emergency kit”

In the case of a disaster, something you need as much as food is access to a toilet. This is a very serious matter and one of the big problems for the people stuck in the stadium in New Orleans last year when hurricane Katrina struck, was the lack of adequate sanitation facilities. I found several portable toilets in the store. But lately, a new way of solving the toilet issue has been featured in news. It is basically same idea as other existing portable toilets, except this new one is like a bathroom you place right above a manhole. Because it is already connected to the sewer system, one doesn’t need to provide water to flush. Behind our backs almost silently, innovative earthquake survival goods like this are being developed!


portable toilet

radio with LED light, which you can generate electricity by winding handle. You can also charge your cell phone.

home rescue kit, “Team Rescue” You can make rescue effort before rescue service arrives.

However, no matter how many goods I found in stores, I haven’t seen any households who have emergency goods nor have I myself started to prepare for it. Maybe because deep down, many of us still want to believe that “bad things won’t happen to me!” But, when I visited my friend’s house over the weekend, I came across so many anti-goods. “Wow, this house is all about survival!”

In the dining room. adjustable pole to hold back big furniture

Some statistics show that over 80% of quake-related deaths in Japan are due to people getting crushed by falling furniture. So my friend’s father used several tools to prevent the accident.


adjustable poles were very popular in store

this is the strap to fix shelf to the wall

In the kitchen, I found more goods.


catch on the fridge door

dish shelf with catch and stick!

On the right picture, a catch was installed on the double door to prevent dishes falling. And a catch was placed even on the fridge door. “I think no one will get hurt even if all the vegetables fall out of fridge….” my friend said, semi-proudly. Well, that might be a bit too extreme, but better be safe than sorry. This visit was very eye opening experience for me. How about you? Are you prepared? At the very least, I want to be prepared mentally…


This is another device. rope is holding boxes on the shelf

And under the furniture, stopper sheet. hmm perfect

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  5. About the EARTHQAKES. México City (I live here) is a land of earquakes. Of course, the culture of the society involves to be prepared for some disaster. I was taliking with my brother the mexican communications system (mobile phones) aren’t prepared to satisfy the demand iF something occurs. I guess in Japan there are more mobile phones in the citizens, but the companies support an emergency? in the past Xmas the lines were overcharged sending messages and calls!!!! in some emergency, maybe will be worst ’cause we’ve lived that before. EXCELLENT article ;)

    Posted by: Yorch on February 2nd, 2006 at 9:08 am

  6. oh! interesting! do you have lots of emergency-products in mexico, too? they are talking about THE BIG EARTHQUAKE in tokyo eversince I got here (and probably even longer), but recently, I noticed that there are more and more products popping up. NOW I start to get worried…..

    Kyoko just told me about a service from NTT (Japanese Telecom) for the case of an earthquake//emergency. it works as some kind of answering machine: you dial the number of the person you want to reach (as usual) and then leave a message for them. in return, they can use a certain “listening service”, dial their own number and listen to what you recorded for them (ideally something like: “Hi Mom! I’m fine!”)

    Posted by: Uleshka on February 2nd, 2006 at 12:08 pm

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  8. México: NO. in MEX there’s no a great culture for earthquakes even when we live in the EARTHQAKES land. There are products for emergencies and courses, simulations but not so approached for the citizens and a little impulsed for institutions.

    Something courious: the mexican people is always prepared to the earquake !!

    Posted by: Jorge on February 2nd, 2006 at 3:08 pm

  9. I never thought that an nature phenom can make a industry like this in a country. It’s more than I expected and now I know a little bit more about the earthquakes in Japan. Here in Brazil we don’t have earthquakes, tornados(we are having some cause the El Niño and all this pollution!), tsunamis and these big nature phenoms, it’s cause this the people here says that we are blessed by God!

    Posted by: Eriksen on February 2nd, 2006 at 8:45 pm

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    Posted by: Jorge on February 3rd, 2006 at 5:00 am

  11. [...] On website like these, you can get an overview of what is going on around the globe regarding seismic activity: USGS - U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program Edinburgh Earth Observatory - World Wide Earthquake Locator The Big Bang - the danger of an devastating earthquake in the Kanto (Tokyo) area has been imminent, since more than 3 years now and every day it becomes more likely to happen, as the experts say. Or it never will. Although “Japan has become a world leader in research on causes and prediction of earthquakes” (Wikipedia), there is not yet a 100% reliable way of predicting exact time and magnitude of earthquakes. The only thing one can do is: prepare oneself! And the Japanese do, with extensive manoeuvers of the the fire brigades and special forces every year. For the citizen there is a wide range of “earthquake survival products” on offer. Apparently, the greatest danger of earthquake is not the actual shacking, but it in the outbreak of fires. Another great danger lies in unsecured falling objects in the houshold, or falling street signs outside, crushing their victims. [...]

    Posted by: NipponInstructed » Blog Archive » Desaster Signage - Earthquakes signs on June 30th, 2006 at 5:39 pm

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