Earthquakes and disasters in Japan: preparing as a foreign resident

Earthquake preparedness in Japan for a foreign resident takes four steps, as of October 2026. Install an alert app in your language (Safety Tips covers 15 languages). Stock food and water for at least 3 days, ideally a week, at 3 liters of water per person per day. Find your nearest evacuation site and shelter: anyone can use a shelter, whatever their nationality. And learn the 171 message dial before you need it, because its voice guidance is Japanese-only.

Which earthquake alerts will I get, and in what language?

Japan sends two kinds of alerts you should know.

• Earthquake early warning (緊急地震速報, kinkyū jishin sokuhō). The Japan Meteorological Agency (気象庁) detects the first, weaker wave near the epicenter and warns areas before the strong shaking arrives. A warning goes out when it predicts seismic intensity 5-lower (震度5弱) or more, to areas expecting intensity 4 or more. Since 1 February 2023, a prediction of strong long-period shaking (長周期地震動, class 3 or more) also triggers it.
• Emergency alert messages (緊急速報メール). Your phone carrier pushes earthquake early warnings, tsunami warnings and city evacuation orders to your phone. SoftBank says the service is free and on by default on most smartphones. On iPhone it has been on by default since iOS 6.

The early warning has limits. Analysis and sending take a few seconds, and the agency says that for shallow quakes on land, a warning in principle cannot arrive in time near the epicenter. Treat the alarm as a signal to take cover at once, not a guarantee.

None of the official and carrier pages we checked say these alerts come in English. If you don’t read Japanese, add an app that sends them in your language.

Which disaster app works in English?

Safety Tips is built for tourists, but it works the same for residents, and it is the only official app here that covers Vietnamese, Nepali, Indonesian, Tagalog and Burmese. Safety Tips is on iOS and Android.

The Tokyo government also publishes its disaster book, Disaster Preparedness Tokyo (東京防災, Tokyo Bōsai), in English, Chinese and Korean to read online. It recommends saving the PDF or e-book to your phone in advance, because the internet may be down after a quake.

What should I do when an earthquake hits?

These steps come from an English city guide (Hamura and Fussa, Tokyo) and the Meteorological Agency’s tsunami page.

What do tsunami warnings mean?

The agency warns that tsunamis can come in several waves. Stay at high ground until the warning is lifted.

What should I put in my earthquake kit?

Japanese city guides ask you to stock at least 3 days, ideally a week, of food and water, with 3 liters of water per person per day. The Tokyo Disaster Management Council (May 2022) estimates that after a major quake directly under the capital, power could take 4 days to restore, water and sewerage 21 days and city gas 42 days. You may not be able to buy food at supermarkets or convenience stores, so plan to live at home on your own supplies.

Tokyo calls this daily stockpiling (日常備蓄): buy a little more of what you already eat and use, use the oldest first, and replace it. You don’t need special survival food. Tokyo marks 19 November each year as Stockpile Day, a reminder to check your supplies.

Take your passport and residence card when you evacuate. If your card is lost or destroyed, see lost residence card.

Inside your home, the Hamura guide recommends furniture straps or stoppers (家具転倒防止) and shatterproof film on windows. Toppled furniture and broken windows are among the main dangers in a quake.

Where do I evacuate, and can foreigners use shelters?

Japan uses two kinds of places, and they are different.

• Evacuation site (避難場所, hinan basho): a large open space such as a park or schoolyard.
• Evacuation shelter (避難所, hinan-jo): usually a school gym, where you can stay temporarily if your home is damaged or there is an evacuation order.

Anyone can use a shelter, the Hamura guide says, but bring what you need yourself. The Cabinet Office (内閣府) adds that shelters are run by the people staying there, so expect to follow rules and help out. The guide sets no condition on nationality or language.

To find yours, check your city’s hazard map (ハザードマップ). The national Hazard Map Portal (ハザードマップポータルサイト) from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism overlays flood, landslide and tsunami risk and links to cities’ own maps. The portal is in Japanese, so ask your city office whether its map has an English version. In Tokyo, the Disaster Preparedness Tokyo app shows facilities in English.

City evacuation information uses levels. At level 3, 高齢者等避難, people who need time to move, such as older people, should evacuate. At level 4, 避難指示, everyone in a danger area must evacuate.

How do I contact family after a disaster?

Phone lines to a disaster area jam fast. NTT runs the Disaster Emergency Message Dial (災害用伝言ダイヤル), number 171, which starts after an earthquake of seismic intensity 6-lower or more, or when NTT decides traffic calls for it.

Calls through NTT East and West lines are free. Mobile carriers may charge, so check yours. Each number holds 1 to 20 messages, announced when the service starts.

Agree on a messaging app with family abroad as well. For police, fire and ambulance numbers, see emergency numbers in Japan. If you are injured, English-speaking hospitals lists ways to find care in English.

What is a Nankai Trough “Megathrust Earthquake” alert?

The Meteorological Agency can issue Nankai Trough Earthquake Extra Information (南海トラフ地震臨時情報) after a large earthquake in the Nankai Trough monitoring area or unusual slow slip on the plate boundary. It first says the event is under investigation (調査中), for example after a magnitude 6.8 or larger quake. It then upgrades to one of the two levels below, or ends with investigation concluded (調査終了) if neither applies.

The Cabinet Office stresses this is not a prediction: a big quake may or may not follow. If you have to pre-evacuate, it suggests staying with friends or family first and using a shelter only if you can’t.

Does insurance cover earthquake damage?

Not by default. The Ministry of Finance says renters’ fire insurance (火災保険) does not pay for fire caused by an earthquake. Earthquake insurance (地震保険) is an add-on to a fire policy, set at 30% to 50% of the fire policy amount, up to ¥10 million for household goods. You can add it partway through a policy. For how renters’ policies work and what they cost, see renters’ fire insurance in Japan.

More guides: emergency numbers in Japan, renters’ fire insurance, lost residence card, English-speaking hospitals, scams targeting foreigners.