Will Japan be ready for the Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games in the event of a huge disaster? The typhoon that hit Japan last week revealed how vulnerable the Tokyo metropolitan area can be, as evidenced by the wide disruption of transportation, power supplies and water. It also suggested the need to promote flexible work styles in the face of emergencies.

An Egyptian man arriving at Narita International Airport was one of 17,000 people stranded there Sept. 9. After going through the lengthy passport control process, he emerged only to find that all buses and trains to Tokyo were suspended and long lines snaked out from the taxi stands.

Typhoon Faxai caused a total of 124 flights to be canceled on that day, while all East Japan Railway Co. and Keisei Electric Railway Co. services were suspended. Highway bus operations were also knocked out as routes linking Narita and Tokyo were blocked.