What do people get wrong about earthquakes as a visitor to Japan?
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Most visitors will feel a tremor during a two-week stay and almost none will be harmed. The country records about 2,000 felt earthquakes a year. What matters is knowing the two or three things to do in the first seconds and where information comes from, because the rules differ from what other countries teach.
What to do
| Moment | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Alarm sounds (phone blares, TV chime) | Protect your head; get under a table or beside a solid wall; away from windows and shelves | You have seconds to tens of seconds |
| During shaking | Stay put. Do not run outside; do not use elevators | Falling glass and signage outside are the main injury cause |
| In a hotel | Open the door slightly once shaking stops (frames can jam); shoes on (glass); torch or phone light | — |
| On a train | Trains auto-stop; stay seated, follow staff | — |
| Near the coast | Tsunami: move to high ground or the 3rd floor and above of a concrete building immediately, before any warning | Tsunami can arrive within minutes |
| After | Check the JMA / NHK World app; expect aftershocks; do not phone (networks jam) — text | — |
- Japan records about 2,000 felt earthquakes (intensity 1+) in a typical year — far more in years like 2024 (over 3,600, after the Noto Peninsula quake); the Japan Meteorological Agency's Earthquake Early Warning is issued when intensity 5-lower or more is expected and pushed to phones in areas expecting intensity 4 or more. Foreign phones on roaming may not receive it — install the Safety tips or NHK World app on arrival.
- Buildings: the 1981 New Earthquake Resistance Standard is the dividing line; hotels and stations built since are designed not to collapse in a major quake. The Shinkansen has never had a passenger fatality from an earthquake, thanks to automatic braking.
- The JMA seismic intensity scale (震度 0–7) describes shaking at your location; magnitude describes the quake's energy. A magnitude 6 far away may be shindo 2 where you stand.
- NHK World (app, English) carries emergency information; Safety tips (Japan Tourism Agency app) pushes alerts in English.
[Verify] Alert thresholds and intensity definitions with the JMA; tsunami guidance with the Cabinet Office; the 1981 standard with MLIT.
Misunderstanding 1｜Run outside
Inside a modern building is safer than a street full of falling glass and tiles. Get under or beside something solid and cover your head.
Misunderstanding 2｜Stand in a doorway
Old advice. Japanese guidance is under a sturdy table or beside an interior wall, away from anything that can fall.
Misunderstanding 3｜A small tremor means nothing will follow
Usually true, but aftershocks follow large quakes for days, and rarely a first quake is a foreshock. Keep shoes and a bag by the bed for a few nights after a big one.
Misunderstanding 4｜Wait for the tsunami warning before leaving the beach
If you feel a strong or long quake near the coast, go to high ground immediately. Warnings follow within minutes; the wave may too. Look for the tsunami evacuation signs (green with a wave and running figure).
Misunderstanding 5｜Nothing can be done in advance
Five minutes on arrival: install NHK World and Safety tips, note the evacuation area sign near your hotel, keep passport, cash, charger and shoes together at night. That is what residents do (see the emergency-bag article).
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Sources
- Japan Meteorological Agency — Earthquake Early Warning and seismic intensity scale (English)
https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Activities/eew.html
- Cabinet Office — Disaster preparedness: what to do in an earthquake and tsunami
https://www.bousai.go.jp/kyoiku/keigen/gensai/index.html
- Japan Tourism Agency — "Safety tips" app for visitors
https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/en/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
About this article
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.
Rules and procedures change. Please confirm the latest official information before you act.
Sources
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