Earthquake Preparedness in Japan: What Every Expat Must Know

The First Earthquake You Feel

My first noticeable earthquake in Tokyo happened at 2:14 AM on a Thursday. I was asleep, and I woke to my apartment swaying — not shaking, swaying, like a ship in gentle seas. The building creaked. My water glass slid two inches across the nightstand. It lasted about 15 seconds and was over before I fully processed what was happening. My phone buzzed with a Japan Meteorological Agency alert: "Earthquake. Magnitude 4.7. Depth 60km. Tokyo intensity: 3." The number scale (shindo in Japanese) runs from 1 to 7, with 3 being "felt by most people indoors" and 7 being "impossible to remain standing." My Japanese neighbor, who I ran into in the hallway, looked at me with the calm of someone who'd experienced this a thousand times and said, in English: "Four is okay. Six is when you worry." Then she went back to bed.

Japan experiences approximately 1,500 perceptible earthquakes per year. The vast majority (shindo 1–3) are minor — you feel them, you check the alert, you move on. But Japan also sits on multiple tectonic plate boundaries, and the potential for major earthquakes (shindo 6–7) is constant and real. The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami killed over 18,000 people. Tokyo is overdue for a major earthquake according to seismological models. This isn't alarmism — it's the geological reality that every Tokyo resident, including expats, must understand and prepare for.

The Emergency Kit (Bousai Bukuro)

Every Japanese household is expected to maintain a disaster preparedness bag (bousai bukuro, 防災袋). Stores like Tokyu Hands, Loft, and Don Quijote sell pre-assembled kits for ¥5,000–¥15,000 ($33–$100), or you can build your own. The essential contents: 3 liters of water per person (rotate every 6 months), energy bars or emergency rations (the Japanese brand Biscolon makes shelf-stable emergency biscuits), a flashlight with extra batteries, a portable phone charger (fully charged), a first aid kit, dust masks (for debris), work gloves, a whistle (for signaling if trapped), copies of your passport, residence card, and insurance documents in a waterproof bag, cash in small denominations (ATMs may not work), and any prescription medications for 7 days.

Keep this bag near your front door or bedroom, somewhere you can grab it within 30 seconds. If a major earthquake hits while you're in bed, you won't have time to assemble supplies — you need them pre-packed and accessible. Many Tokyo residents also keep a smaller emergency kit at work (flashlight, walking shoes, water, snacks) for the scenario where a quake strikes during business hours and public transit shuts down, requiring a potentially long walk home.

During an Earthquake: The Drop-Cover-Hold Sequence

When shaking starts: drop to your hands and knees, take cover under a sturdy desk or table, and hold on until the shaking stops. If there's no table nearby, cover your head and neck with your arms and crouch near an interior wall, away from windows, mirrors, and heavy objects that could fall. Do not run outside during shaking — falling debris from buildings is more dangerous than being inside a properly constructed building. Japanese building codes since 1981 require earthquake-resistant construction, and buildings in Tokyo are among the safest structures in the world during seismic events.

After shaking stops: check for injuries. Turn off gas (most Japanese apartments have a gas shutoff valve near the stove — learn its location now). Open a door or window slightly to prevent jamming if the building frame has shifted. Check for gas leaks (smell) and water leaks. Put on shoes — broken glass is the most common post-earthquake injury. Check the NHK emergency broadcast and your phone alerts for tsunami warnings if you're near the coast. Do NOT use elevators.

The Alert System

Japan's Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system sends alerts to every phone in the affected area seconds before shaking arrives. The alert sound is a distinctive, urgent tone that you will hear in your nightmares after your first experience with it — it's designed to be impossible to ignore. The system provides 5–30 seconds of warning depending on your distance from the epicenter. This is enough time to get under a table, move away from windows, or turn off a stove. Set your phone language to Japanese for the best alert experience, or install the Yurekuru Call app (available in English) which provides customized earthquake alerts.

For tsunami warnings, the system is even more critical. After a major coastal earthquake, the JMA issues tsunami advisories within 3 minutes. If you're near the coast and receive a tsunami warning, move to high ground immediately — don't wait for more information, don't go to the beach to look, don't assume it won't reach your location. Tsunami evacuation routes are marked with blue signs in coastal areas of Japan. Identify the nearest evacuation route for your home and workplace.

Your Building Matters

Japanese buildings constructed after 1981 meet the New Earthquake Resistant Design Standard (shin-taishin), which requires structures to survive a shindo 7 earthquake without collapse. Buildings constructed after 2000 meet even stricter standards. If your apartment building was built before 1981, it may not meet current codes — ask your landlord or building management about the building's earthquake resistance status (taishin-sei, 耐震性). Buildings that have undergone seismic retrofitting (taishin hoshu, 耐震補修) will usually display a certificate or notice.

Furniture anchoring is not optional in earthquake-prone Japan. Bookshelves, wardrobes, and refrigerators should be secured to the wall with L-brackets or tension rods (available at Daiso for ¥100–¥300). Earthquake-proofing gel pads (taishin gel) placed under TVs, monitors, and other heavy objects prevent them from sliding off surfaces during shaking. These simple measures take 30 minutes to implement and dramatically reduce the risk of injury from falling objects, which is the leading cause of earthquake injuries in residential settings.

After a Major Earthquake

If a major earthquake (shindo 6+) hits Tokyo, expect: public transit shutdown (all trains stop automatically and resume only after tracks are inspected, which can take hours to days), phone network congestion (voice calls may not work; text messages and data often still function), disrupted water and gas service in some areas, and road closures. The government maintains designated emergency shelters (hinanjo, 避難所) in schools, community centers, and parks across every neighborhood — find the nearest one to your home and workplace using the Bousai Map app or your ward office's disaster prevention page.

Register for your ward's disaster preparedness notification system (available through your ward office or their website). Join the NTT Disaster Message Board (171) system, which allows you to leave and check voice messages for family during disasters when normal phone service is disrupted. And know your embassy's emergency number — they provide welfare checks and evacuation assistance for their citizens during major disasters.

The most important earthquake preparation isn't the kit, the alerts, or the emergency plan — it's the mental preparation. Understanding that earthquakes are a normal part of life in Japan, that the building you're in is almost certainly safe, and that the systems designed to protect you are among the best in the world allows you to respond calmly rather than panicking. The calm neighbor who went back to bed after the magnitude 4.7 wasn't being reckless. She was being Japanese — prepared, informed, and proportionate in her response. After a year in Tokyo, you'll respond the same way.