Emergency preparedness in Japan: the official guidance

Short answer. Japan asks every household to keep food and water for at least 3 days and ideally 1 week, with 3 litres of water per person per day ¹². Missile and disaster warnings reach residents through J-Alert, outdoor loudspeakers and emergency alert mail on mobile phones ³⁴. 103,226 buildings are designated as evacuation facilities (1 April 2026) ⁵. Facts on these pages were verified on 2026-10-20.

Who is responsible for civil preparedness in Japan?

Responsibility is shared between national bodies, with prefectures and municipalities carrying out the measures on the ground:

• Cabinet Secretariat (内閣官房) — civil protection (国民保護): missile information sent through J-Alert, the evacuation-facility portal and the civil-protection pamphlet ³⁶⁷.
• Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA, 総務省消防庁) — operates J-Alert ⁸.
• Cabinet Office, Disaster Management — the household stockpile benchmark ².
• Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA, 原子力規制庁) — rules for distributing and taking stable iodine ⁹.
• Prefectural governors (mayors in designated cities) — designate evacuation facilities under the Civil Protection Act ⁶.

What is on each page?

• Emergency supplies — at least 3 days, ideally 1 week; 3 litres of water per person per day; the Ministry of Agriculture's model one-week stock for two adults ¹¹⁰².
• Kit — the official lists line by line: the MAFF one-week stock and the Cabinet Secretariat go-bag ¹⁷.
• Public shelters — 103,226 evacuation facilities, including 62,382 emergency temporary evacuation facilities and 4,540 underground ones, as of 1 April 2026; no blast-proof bunker network for the general population ⁵.
• Alerts — J-Alert, the national civil-protection siren tone, the five missile messages and what to do in the first minutes ³¹¹⁴.
• Iodine — stable iodine pre-distributed within about 5 km of nuclear facilities, handed out at evacuation within about 30 km, taken only on official instruction ⁹.
• Build a shelter — no national law requires, licenses or certifies a private shelter; the March 2026 Cabinet policy is still studying definitions ².
• Shelter standards — the non-binding 2024 Technical Guideline for Specified Temporary Evacuation Facilities ¹².
• Emergency contacts — 110 police, 119 fire and ambulance, 118 Coast Guard, and the JNTO visitor hotline ¹³¹⁵¹⁴.

Which official booklet should I read?

The Cabinet Secretariat publishes a 32-page pamphlet, Protecting yourself from emergencies such as armed attacks and terrorism (武力攻撃やテロなどの緊急事態から身を守るために). It covers warnings, sudden explosions, missile, chemical, biological and nuclear attacks, and everyday preparedness; the current PDF dates from March 2026 (partial revision) ⁷. A set of ballistic-missile action leaflets, a children's leaflet and videos (2024) complement it ¹¹. For a nuclear incident the pamphlet's first advice is to cover your mouth and nose with a handkerchief or similar and leave the area immediately ⁷.

Where do I start?

Build the 3-day stock first, then extend it toward a week (kit). Look up your nearest evacuation facility (public shelters), learn what each J-Alert message means (alerts) and note the numbers (emergency contacts). For a household plan, see /guides/family-plan; for water quantities, /guides/water-per-person.

Frequently asked questions

How long should Japanese households be prepared for?

At least 3 days, with 1 week recommended, the benchmark promoted by the Cabinet Office and restated in the March 2026 Cabinet shelter policy ²¹⁰.

Does Japan have nuclear bunkers for the public?

No blast-proof bunker network exists for the general population. Prefectures designate existing sturdy concrete buildings and underground spaces as emergency temporary evacuation facilities ⁵².

How will I be warned of a missile in Japan?

Through J-Alert: outdoor municipal loudspeakers and emergency alert mail on your mobile phone ³⁴.

When were these pages checked?

All facts were verified against the official sources listed below on 2026-10-20.

Sources

1. 農林水産省 (MAFF) — 知って備える 家庭備蓄のイロハ（aff 2026年3月号 特集） — https://www.maff.go.jp/j/pr/aff/2603/spe1_01.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
2. 内閣官房 (Cabinet Secretariat) — 緊急事態を想定した避難施設（シェルター）の確保に関する基本方針（令和８年３月31日閣議決定） — https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/pdf/hinan/260331shelter_hontai.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
3. 内閣官房 (Cabinet Secretariat) — Jアラート（全国瞬時警報システム）による情報伝達について — https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/kokuminaction/jalert.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
4. 内閣官房 (Cabinet Secretariat) — 国民保護のための情報伝達の手段 — https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/gaiyou/shudan.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
5. 内閣官房・消防庁・内閣府 — 避難施設一覧の更新について（令和８年８月25日） — https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/pdf/hinan/01_R8hinanshisetu.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
6. 内閣官房 (Cabinet Secretariat) — 避難施設 - 内閣官房 国民保護ポータルサイト — https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/hinan/index.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
7. 内閣官房 (Cabinet Secretariat) — 武力攻撃やテロなどの緊急事態から身を守るために（パンフレット） — https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/gaiyou/shiryou/hogo_manual.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
8. 総務省消防庁 (FDMA) — 全国瞬時警報システム（Jアラート）の概要 — https://www.fdma.go.jp/about/organization/post-18.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
9. 原子力規制庁 (Nuclear Regulation Authority) — 安定ヨウ素剤の配布・服用に当たって（令和６年12月23日一部改正） — https://www.nra.go.jp/data/000480577.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
10. 首相官邸 (Prime Minister's Office) — 災害が起きる前にできること — https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/headline/bousai/sonae.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
11. 内閣官房 (Cabinet Secretariat) — 弾道ミサイル飛来時の行動 — https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/kokuminaction/ (accessed 2026-10-20)
12. 内閣官房 (Cabinet Secretariat) — 特定臨時避難施設の技術ガイドライン（概要）（第２版） — https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/pdf/hinan/240628_Guideline_gaiyou.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
13. 海上保安庁 (Japan Coast Guard) — 海の「もしも」は１１８番 — https://www.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/info/joho/tel118.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
14. Japan Tourism Agency — Information on illnesses, injuries, and disasters — https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/en/shisaku/kokusai/traveltojapan.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
15. 総務省消防庁 (FDMA) — 電話通訳センターを介した三者間同時通訳による多言語対応の推進について（消防消第８号、平成29年1月25日） — https://www.fdma.go.jp/laws/tutatsu/assets/290125_syou8.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)