Many Japanese Underprepared for Natural Disasters

Flashlights and Lanterns Ranked Most Essential

In a survey in Japan, only a total of 26.2% of respondents stated they were either “fully” or “somewhat” prepared for a disaster, while 25.8% answered “not at all,” and 47.9% said “not really.” More than 30% of those in their twenties to forties said that they had not done any kind of preparation.

The survey related to disaster preparation was conducted online in July 2025 by the research company Cross Marketing, targeting people across the country aged 20 to 79. It received 3,000 valid responses in total (1,500 men and 1,500 women).

At 41.7%, the most common item that people had prepared, with multiple responses possible, was “lighting, such as flashlights and lanterns.” This was followed by 38.6% who had prepared “dry-cell batteries,” and 34.9% who had stocks of “emergency food, non-perishable food, and water.” At 20.1%, up 5.4 points from the previous year’s survey, were portable toilets that can be used without water.

Respondents were also asked about whether they knew the nearest evacuation area to their home and the distance it took, to which 60.2% answered they “don’t know where the evacuation area is.” Only 18.7% knew how long it took to get to the evacuation area and had actually checked.

Data Sources

• 2025 Survey on Disaster Prevention Preparedness (Japanese) from Cross Marketing.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)