More than 25% of respondents in Japan saw or heard false news or information during natural disasters, a Japanese Red Cross Society survey has found.

The organization, which announced the findings in August ahead of Monday's Disaster Prevention Day, called on the public to "carefully assess the accuracy of information and use it appropriately during disasters."

The survey was conducted from July 18 to 24 on 1,200 people in their 10s to 60s in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Fukuoka and four other prefectures. Responses were collected via the internet.

When asked about exposure to false information during disasters, 25.5% answered yes. Respondents up to 19 years old logged the highest rate at 41.5%, followed by those in their 20s at 31% and those in their 30s at 29.5%.

Of all respondents who encountered false information, 45.4% said they "researched the reliability or checked facts." Meanwhile, 8.2% said they spread the information on social media or through other means, 4.9% took action based on false information, and 42.8% did nothing.

Nearly half of all respondents, 47.4%, were aware of Disaster Prevention Day. But 74.3% said they had never participated in local disaster response drills.

"It's necessary to properly judge the accuracy as the amount of available information increases," said Tomohito Yamaji of the society's disaster response division. "We hope to improve people's awareness of disaster reduction and change their behavior through educational activities such as seminars."