Household Disaster Supplies in Japan Found Inadequate

Tokyo, Oct. 17 (Jiji Press)–Many Japanese households remain underprepared for disasters, with emergency toilets in short supply particularly, a survey released by the Cabinet Office on Friday showed. In the survey, respondents were asked to select multiple items that they keep in stock for at least three days to prepare for disasters. The most common item was drinking water, with 69.8 pct of respondents reporting supplies of at least 3 liters per person per day. Only 27.5 pct claimed to have portable or emergency toilets. The number of emergency toilets were flagged as insufficient after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in central Japan in January last year. The figure for food supplies, including canned foods and retort-pouched cooked rice, stood at 59.7 pct. Some 38.7 pct reported supplies of hygiene products such as antiseptic wipes and dry shampoo. Household disaster supplies are “not adequate as a whole,” a Cabinet Office official said. Asked about general disaster preparedness measures, 45.8 pct of respondents reported keeping food, water, daily necessities or medicines on hand, up 5 percentage points from the previous survey in September 2022. The latest survey found that among those unwilling to participate in disaster volunteer activities, 49.6 pct, the largest group, cited concerns about experience, physical strength, safety and sanitary conditions. Those who cited lack of time totaled 21.7 pct, while 17.9 pct cited transportation, accommodation or equipment costs. The survey was conducted by mail from Aug. 21 to Sept. 28 among 3,000 people aged 18 or older nationwide, with a valid response rate of 51.7 pct. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]