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July 04, 2025
 

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JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Nov 29, 2021

On shaky ground: Is Tokyo prepared for the ‘Big One’?

A powerful earthquake that shook the capital in October has fueled fresh fears of an impending temblor that could devastate the world's largest city.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 13, 2008

Are you prepared for the next major earthquake?

Louis Chan Nurse, 30 (Hong Kong) I would try to stay up to date with the news and special announcements — if possible, I would check the Internet — but in terms of emergency supplies, I don't have anything prepared.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2018

How ready are you for Japan's next big earthquake?

Emergency kits are a must-have in earthquake prone Japan, but a survey by The Japan Times has found that a number of people did not use theirs when a deadly quake rocked Osaka Prefecture and its vicinity last week.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 8, 2021

Ten years on from 3/11, do you think you're ready for the 'Big One'?

What if the quake that hit Tohoku 10 years ago happened along the Nankai Trough to the south of Japan? Well, experts are predicting this very scenario.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 19, 2008

Be prepared for the 'Big One'

'How can we be prepared?' BJ writes in the wake of the recent spate of earthquakes. "Our family is increasingly concerned about what we can do if an earthquake or some other calamity strikes. We live in an apartment. Will we be OK? What kind of resources are there and what should we do in case of a disaster?"...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2017

Minato Ward hosts first disaster seminar for foreign residents

Foreign residents gathered for a seminar in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Saturday to learn how to use disaster kits and protect themselves during emergencies, even if they can't speak Japanese.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 20, 2010

Japan's vulnerability to tsunami

Rollers from the giant earthquake in Chile in February and the catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 are still fresh in the world's memories, but in Japan giant tidal waves have never been far from thought.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Feb 7, 2022

Why not helmets? Japan's school disaster hoods stir debate.

Protective hoods have gradually spread to elementary schools in Miyagi Prefecture, but some experts say helmets are more effective in a disaster.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 30, 2023

From lessons of 3/11, Japan scientists share knowledge of disaster resilience across Pacific

As Japan’s top researchers continue to glean new information from 3/11, some scientists are aiming to pass on that knowledge to the rest of the disaster-prone Pacific Rim.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 10, 2019

Earthquakes: What to do before, during and immediately after

Earthquakes are an ever-present danger in Japan so it is important to be thoroughly prepared in the eventuality that one strikes. Although many areas in Japan publish comprehensive guides in English and other languages — see "Tokyo Bousai" ("Disaster Preparedness Tokyo") published by the Tokyo Metropolitan...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jan 15, 2018

Let's discuss the big earthquake that never came

Across the Kanto region and in parts of Fukushima Prefecture on Jan. 5, alarms suddenly rang out at 11:02 a.m. from cellphones and public speakers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 4, 2022

Japanese town hit by 2011 quake making evacuation plan for vulnerable residents

A particularly urgent issue is for municipalities to come up with ways to support severely ill people undergoing treatment at home who use respirators and other medical devices.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 20, 2016

Dispatches from the Kumamoto quake zone

Personal accounts relate tales of kindness and resilience after the initial confusion and panic of last week's deadly temblors.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 11, 2014

Dire quake forecasts fail to stir a numb public

Is there a level of fear above which the mind reflexively retreats from imagining the worst? The Great East Japan Earthquake was often described as being 'beyond imagination,' and the art and science of projecting future catastrophes has had to adjust accordingly.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Aug 20, 2020

Double the disaster means extra preparation for your emergency kit

With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing and typhoon season approaching, don't forget to update your emergency evacuation bag.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 8, 2016

Media show Kumamoto was woefully ill-prepared for disabled evacuees

It was heartening to see newspapers focusing on the difficulties disabled people face when disaster strikes, but far less heartening to hear what they had to say about the facts on the ground in Kumamoto.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / Vocabulary Boost
Sep 1, 2022

Take some time to refresh your emergency vocabulary on Disaster Prevention Day

It was 99 years ago that a devastating earthquake hit Tokyo. As a result, Japan marks Sept. 1 by conducting disaster-preparedness drills at schools and companies nationwide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Apr 25, 2022

Hokkaido underprepared for offshore winter quakes and 'ice tsunami' destruction

Ice tsunamis can block the spaces between buildings and in streets, causing water to overflow into open spaces and cause faster and higher levels of flooding than otherwise expected.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 23, 2021

An earthquake in Kobe speaks to a sea wall in San Francisco

Researchers worldwide view Kobe as an example of a modern city where, in 1995, structures failed to perform the way engineers thought they would.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 21, 2015

Remembering and learning from the Kobe quake

Cooperation in disaster relief efforts have helped strengthen ties between Japan and the United States.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 17, 2012

Urbanites urged to head up, not down, to survive tsunami

Sitting across from me at a Naka-Meguro pizzeria, Riccardo Tossani pulled out his iPhone to check his Spyglass app. He glanced out the window to survey the adjacent taller buildings, ignoring the cherry blossoms that were in full bloom.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Nov 22, 2002

Are our schools ready for a big one?

Every few months, I have the same nightmare: A major earthquake strikes Tokyo when my kids are at school. The city is in ruins. There's no electricity, the phones are out and the trains have stopped. I run through the streets, unable to find my children, until I wake up in a cold sweat.
A schoolgirl wears a padded hood for protection from falling debris during an earthquake simulation exercise at an elementary school in Tokyo. The government estimates a 70% chance of a magnitude 7 event striking directly underneath the capital in the next 30 years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2023

Tokyo has lived on the brink of the ‘Big One’ — for a century

The Great Kanto Earthquake demolished the nascent Japanese capital, killing more than 100,000 people — some 3% of the city’s population at the time.
A map of western Japan shows the Nankai Trough and, to its north, the hypocentral region where the energy for an earthquake is thought to be building.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 30, 2024

Did you feel that? It may be time to refresh your disaster kits — and vocabulary.

Part of Japan got a scare when the first-ever megaquake alert was issued earlier this month, a reminder that knowing the right terms in a disaster is crucial.
Snow falls on collapsed buildings in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 7, as the area began to look toward recovery from the massive earthquake that struck on Jan. 1.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jan 17, 2024

'Noto is kind, right down to its soil': A community's long road to recovery

Volunteers are coming together to help each other in the wake of disaster. However, eventually isolated rural villages will need rethinking.
A member of the Self-Defense Forces wipes away sweat as he conducts a search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by heavy rain in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 11, 2018.
ENVIRONMENT / Boiling Point
Aug 29, 2024

Can Japan handle a heat wave and natural disaster at the same time?

Recent typhoons and the Nankai Trough megaquake alert have put the spotlight on how the country would deal with a dual disaster.
Any mix of the above foods that fit your dietary needs and preferences will make for filling and nutritious meals during an emergency.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 9, 2024

Don’t let the next quake catch you (or your stomach) off guard

There’s a hidden threat in the days of limited power and bare grocery store shelves that follow a natural disaster: nutritional deficiencies.
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Aug 9, 2024

Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?

How serious is the situation, and what should people do in the days to come? Here’s what you need to know.
Rescue workers look for missing people in collapsed houses in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, and the surrounding areas on Jan. 1.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2024

No one left behind: Japan needs to work on its multicultural disaster response

The Noto earthquake has put into relief, once again, the need to cater disaster responses and preparedness to everyone, including foreigners.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023

Century since Kanto quake, expert warns of 'blind faith' in disaster resilience

For many, grasping the potential devastation of a future major quake remains as elusive as it was 100 years ago.
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Over 900 earthquakes strike Tokara islands in space of two weeks
A screenshot shows many quakes occurring in the Tokara islands over the past 30 days, in this image taken from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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