If there is an earthquake in Japan right now, protect your head, get away from glass and falling objects, and take cover where you are. Indoors, get low under a sturdy table if one is nearby and hold on until the shaking stops. Do not run into a stairwell, rush outside or use a lift while the building is moving.
Knowing what to do when there is an earthquake in Japan means making two decisions in the correct order: survive the shaking first; then check for secondary danger. After the tremor, falling debris, broken glass, damaged buildings, fires, aftershocks and, in coastal places, tsunamis may still put you at risk.
This Japan earthquake safety guide is for residents, families, international students and visitors in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hokkaido, Okinawa and elsewhere. The action always depends on your immediate surroundings and local instructions. For current official earthquake information, open the Japan Meteorological Agency earthquake information or the Japan National Tourism Organization safety page, rather than treating a general article as a live emergency bulletin.
Quick answer: what to do in the first minute
- Inside a home or hotel: protect your head, shelter under a sturdy table where possible, stay away from windows and tall furniture, and hold on until shaking stops.
- In a shopping centre, station or public building: do not stampede towards the exit; follow staff and safety announcements once you are secure.
- Outside: move away from walls, shop signs, glass, poles and objects that could fall. Protect your head. Avoid hazardous crossings.
- Driving: slow down smoothly, pull over safely without blocking emergency routes, and stay informed. Do not brake or swerve abruptly.
- Near a coast: after strong shaking, or shaking that continues for a long time, move promptly to high ground or a designated tsunami evacuation building as soon as you can move safely. Do not wait to see the sea change.
- Afterwards: assess injuries, look for immediate hazards, follow Japanese local authority instructions and prepare for additional shaking.
If somebody needs an ambulance or firefighters, call 119 in Japan; for an urgent police emergency, 110. Foreign visitors can also use the JNTO visitor hotline on 050-3816-2787 for multilingual visitor assistance, but it is not a replacement for emergency services.
During an earthquake: the correct action depends on where you are
At home, at work or inside a hotel room
Most earthquake injuries are caused not by the ground moving directly but by objects falling, glass breaking or people falling. Make the space immediately around you safer. If a sturdy table is within reach, crouch underneath and hold on to its legs. Cover your head and neck. If you cannot reach cover, crouch near an internal wall away from windows, cabinets and hanging objects, protecting your head and neck.
Do not dash to a doorway merely because you have heard that door frames are always safe. Modern buildings do not make every doorway a suitable shelter, and moving across the room exposes you to falling objects. Do not race downstairs while steps and handrails are shaking. A balcony is not automatically safer either.
If you are in bed, stay there if there is no immediate structural hazard, use a pillow to protect your head and remain away from windows if possible. When the tremor ends, put on footwear before moving through broken glass.
In an apartment tower or office building
High floors may sway for longer and may feel more dramatic. Protect yourself where you are instead of trying to outrun the movement. Avoid external windows, suspended lights and unsecured shelving. Elevators may stop or be taken out of service. Once the shaking has stopped, follow the building’s evacuation and re-entry instructions. Use designated stairs if directed and safe; do not assume that every staircase is undamaged.
If you smell gas or see serious structural damage, leave the immediate danger area when it is safe to move and alert staff or emergency services. Do not operate electrical switches or create sparks if a gas leak is suspected.
On a train, at a station or in the subway
Japanese transport operators may stop trains automatically or after an earthquake alert. Hold the handrail or strap and follow crew announcements. Do not force doors open or enter railway tracks. In a station, keep away from glass panels, hanging fixtures and crowd crush points, then follow station staff’s instructions. Service suspensions do not by themselves mean that an evacuation is necessary.
If you are a visitor and announcements are only in Japanese, ask staff to identify the safest waiting area and whether the station is open. A mobile translation app may help, but it should not delay immediate protective action.
In a car, on a bicycle or walking outside
If driving, reduce speed gradually and stop in a safe location away from bridges, unstable slopes and structures likely to drop debris where practical. Check traffic and emergency notices before continuing. Never block fire-engine access. If walking, create distance from walls, building facades, glass and utility cables. In a mountain region, be alert to rocks and landslides.
The coastal decision: earthquake or tsunami?
An earthquake and a tsunami are different hazards. Many earthquakes do not produce dangerous tsunamis, but powerful or prolonged coastal shaking requires immediate attention. If you are on a beach, near a harbour, along a river mouth or in a low-lying coastal district, do not wait for an app notification when strong or long shaking has occurred. Once you can safely move, evacuate inland or uphill using marked routes, or go to a designated tsunami evacuation building if that is the local plan.
A tsunami is not necessarily one wave, and the first wave need not be the largest. Remain away from the coast until authorities give an all-clear. Avoid returning to retrieve belongings or take photographs. The JMA emergency-warning guidance explains urgent protective responses, including tsunami evacuation.
A useful distinction for visitors: the safest action inside a hotel during active shaking may be to take cover; the safest action after shaking in a coastal tsunami zone may be to evacuate. The moment and the location change the answer.
The first ten minutes after shaking stops
- Check whether anybody is seriously injured; call emergency services for urgent injuries, entrapment, fire or other life-threatening danger.
- Look for smoke, damaged stairs, cracks, falling material, exposed wires and water or gas leaks before moving.
- Put on shoes; keep a torch and phone close.
- Check for coastal tsunami warnings or instructions if you are near the sea.
- Listen to hotel, university, workplace, transport and municipal announcements.
- Send a short message to family when practical: your location, whether you are safe, and your next destination. Messages may work when voice lines are congested.
- Avoid unnecessary journeys and allow rescue vehicles to move.
If you are trapped, try to signal your location without creating dust or risking further collapse. Use a phone if it works. Tap on a pipe or wall if responders are nearby; shout when necessary, conserving energy and avoiding inhaling dust.
Aftershocks: why the first tremor may not be the end
Additional earthquakes often follow a large event. They can shake already-weakened buildings or dislodge unstable objects. There is no reliable way to use a clock or an internet rumour to predict the exact next quake. Treat warnings from the Japan Meteorological Agency as authoritative, and expect that normal transport or building access may be restricted while safety checks occur.
The practical response is to keep a safe place to cover nearby, avoid damaged structures, keep footwear on and monitor official updates. If the building has been closed by an authority or safety officer, do not re-enter because a corridor looks undamaged. For additional background, read eduKateSG’s guide to Japan’s earthquake warning systems, which explains the warning and transport layer; this article is the companion guide on actions during a real event.
How to understand Japanese earthquake alerts
An earthquake early warning is a rapidly issued alert intended to give people a short opportunity to protect themselves. It is not a long-range prediction; a person very near the source may have little or no advance notice. Do not wait for more detail before covering your head.
Magnitude describes an earthquake’s overall size. Seismic intensity, including the JMA shindo scale, describes how strongly the ground shook at a location. You may see the same earthquake produce different intensities across Japan. Neither a magnitude headline nor a social-media video tells you whether your particular building has been cleared for occupation.
Japan’s Safety tips app information describes multilingual push alerts for foreign visitors and residents. Install and familiarise yourself with a trusted alert channel before a disaster; do not rely on a single phone or mobile-data connection.
If you are visiting Japan
Staying in a hotel or short-term rental
Identify the hotel’s emergency staircase, assembly point and nearest staff desk. Find out whether your accommodation is in a tsunami evacuation area. When an earthquake occurs, take immediate cover; afterwards, ask staff if you should remain in the room, gather in a designated safe area or leave the building. A check-out deadline or transport ticket is secondary to safety.
At an attraction or crowded venue
Follow venue announcements and avoid rushing with the crowd. In temples and historical districts, be mindful of walls, roof tiles and decorative elements that might fall. At coastal attractions, follow tsunami evacuation signage. If exits are congested, keep moving only when a safe route is clear.
Airport or railway disruption
A delayed service is not an instruction to leave the terminal. Keep boarding passes, passports, medications and chargers accessible. Check the operator’s official service updates. Contact your insurer or airline after reaching safety. Do not follow strangers onto closed platforms or roads.
Earthquake preparedness for a household in Japan
A useful emergency kit is not a shopping performance; it consists of items you can actually carry and use: drinking water, necessary medication, copies of identification and contact numbers, a torch, a small radio or another reliable information source, power bank, suitable shoes, basic first-aid supplies and supplies for infants or pets where relevant.
Secure bookcases and tall furniture to prevent them falling. Keep heavy items away from sleeping positions and exits. Agree on a family contact method and meeting place. Learn local evacuation routes, including separate routes for tsunami, landslide and fire where appropriate.
For a child, practise a short instruction that can be remembered: ‘Down, cover your head, stay away from glass, then listen to the adult or staff member.’ For someone with mobility or sensory needs, identify a practical safe position and who will assist with evacuation. Do not assume a generic route works for every resident.
Common mistakes that make earthquakes more dangerous
- Running outside at the first tremor. Facades and glass may be falling outside. Protect yourself during movement, then assess.
- Using a lift because stairs seem slow. Elevators can stop or become unsafe; follow building instructions after shaking.
- Returning to the beach because the water looks calm. Tsunami danger cannot be judged by a casual glance.
- Treating a viral forecast as certainty. Exact-date earthquake predictions circulating online are not a substitute for JMA information.
- Entering a cracked building to retrieve a laptop. Structural safety is not visible from the doorway.
- Trying to drive everywhere immediately. Roads may be blocked or needed for rescue.
Worked example: a family in a Tokyo apartment
Imagine a family in a fifth-floor apartment when furniture begins to rattle. The adults and children get low away from a large window and cover their heads. They wait for shaking to stop. One adult checks for immediate injuries and hazards; the other looks for official messages. They do not get into the lift. If management directs evacuation, they use the designated safe route. They send a brief message to a relative outside the area. This is a fictional example of decision order, not a report of an actual event.
Now imagine the same family holidaying near a beach in Okinawa. During shaking they protect themselves. After a strong or prolonged tremor, they immediately use the designated tsunami evacuation route to higher ground. They do not wait for a tour operator to confirm whether the excursion is cancelled. Same hazard family, different secondary risk.
Frequently asked questions
Should I stand in a doorway during an earthquake?
Not as a general rule. A doorway may be exposed to swinging doors and falling objects. Protect your head and seek sturdy cover where you are; follow building-specific guidance.
Is it safe to go outside immediately after the shaking?
Not automatically. Check for falling glass, damaged structures, aftershocks and local evacuation instructions. Near a tsunami-prone coast, evacuation to higher ground can be urgent once it is possible to move safely.
What should I do if a Japanese earthquake alert wakes me up?
Protect your head promptly, avoid windows and tall furniture, and move only as far as necessary to reduce immediate injury risk. Follow subsequent official directions.
Can an earthquake be predicted days in advance?
There is no dependable method to give an exact date, time and location for the next damaging earthquake. Early warnings detect an earthquake that has started; they do not predict one days ahead.
What if I do not speak Japanese?
Follow staff and evacuation signage; consult the multilingual JNTO Safety tips resource and call the Japan Visitor Hotline for visitor support when needed. For police or ambulance emergencies, use 110 or 119.
Official Japan earthquake information and further reading
- Japan Meteorological Agency — earthquakes and early warnings.
- JMA — emergency warning response guidance.
- Japan National Tourism Organization — earthquake response and safety information.
- JNTO — multilingual Safety tips app.
- JNTO — emergency numbers and visitor hotline.
- eduKateSG — Gold Standard of Disaster Preparedness for wider household preparedness, not a substitute for Japan’s local emergency directions.
- eduKateSG — Gold Standard of Disaster Communication for understanding how to distinguish verified official information from rumours.
Last reviewed: 2 November 2026. This is general preparedness guidance, not a live event update. Always follow official local evacuation, building, tsunami and emergency-service instructions, even when they differ from a general guide.