TOKYO, Japan Wire - During a summer marked by earthquakes, typhoons, extreme heat and floods, nearly half of households in Japan remain unprepared for a disaster, a recent survey showed.
Only 52.8 percent of households had taken steps to prepare for a disaster, leaving almost half unprepared, according to research firm Intage Inc., which conducted a survey of 5,000 people aged 15 to 79 from July 22 to July 27.
The survey came just days before a magnitude 7.1 earthquake jolted the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto on July 28, leaving tens of thousands of homes without running water and electricity.
More recently, torrential rain that struck Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo in August flooded around 4,000 homes and forced drivers to abandon around 2,500 vehicles on roads managed by the city of Chiba.
According to the Intage survey, disaster readiness was particularly low among people living alone, despite single-person households driving the overall increase in preparedness from 51.8 percent the previous year.
The rate of taking measures among single-person households increased by 5.5 percentage points from the previous year to 40.2 percent, but that still leaves around 60 percent unprepared, well below the overall average, according to Intage.
Among the measures taken by households, stockpiling water (34.0 percent) and instant foods (28.2 percent), as well as regular hydration (26.4 percent), were the most common.
Notably, among respondents who had experienced a disaster caused by an earthquake, preparations for power outages, including stocking up on dry cell batteries and portable power banks, were 1.3 times more common than the household average.
Average annual spending on disaster preparation remained largely unchanged at 2,877 yen ($18) per person.
Putting off preparation, not knowing where to start, and concerns about the cost were the most cited reasons among respondents not taking steps to prepare.
Intage conducted the annual survey during another hot summer in Japan, with parts of the country enduring their first-ever “kokushobi,” or “cruelly hot days.”
Coined by the weather agency in April for days when temperatures reach 40 C, the term “kokushobi” is intended to better warn people about dangerous heat.
While measures related to stockpiling supplies decreased or remained unchanged from the previous year, according to the survey, those related to coping with extreme heat showed an increase.
Along with efforts to stay hydrated, using air conditioners together with electric fans at home and refraining from going out were more common than the previous year.
Intage said the findings suggest disaster preparedness is expanding beyond readiness for a one-off future disaster to include risks people face every year, including extreme heat.
Between May and September 2025, a record high of 100,510 people were transported by ambulance to hospital due to heat-related illnesses, according to data from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Since May this year, that number stands at 68,561 as of Aug. 23, according to preliminary figures.
This article was submitted by a contributing writer for publication on Japan Wire.
