If an earthquake is happening in Japan right now: protect your head, get low, take cover beneath a sturdy table if one is close, and hold on until the shaking ends. Do not run outside during violent shaking or use an elevator. If you are near the coast and feel strong or long shaking, move immediately to designated high ground or an appropriate tsunami evacuation building as soon as you can move safely. Follow official local instructions. For immediate emergency help in Japan, call 119 for ambulance or fire, or 110 for police.
Official information: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) earthquake information · JMA earthquake early warning explanation · Japan National Tourism Organization safety updates.
Quick answer: An earthquake does not follow a dependable countdown. You may first feel shaking, or hear an early-warning sound seconds beforehand, or receive no warning. The shaking is followed by a period in which people check injuries, falling objects, damaged buildings, fire, disrupted transport and possible aftershocks. Near the coast, tsunami evacuation can be more urgent than inspecting a room or finding belongings. This guide explains the sequence without pretending to predict its duration or severity.
The sequence at a glance: what happens and what to do
- Before shaking or at the first movement: an earthquake early warning may sound, but it may arrive too late. Get low, protect your head and take immediate cover.
- While the ground is shaking: stay under cover, hold on and avoid windows, shelves, glass and heavy objects. Outside, move away from walls and façades if you can do so safely.
- When shaking stops: check injuries and surroundings before moving; put on shoes; watch for broken glass, fire, damaged stairs and loose debris.
- Minutes afterward: listen to JMA and municipal notices. Leave an unsafe building when it is safe to move. At a tsunami-risk coast, evacuate immediately after strong or prolonged shaking.
- Hours to days afterward: aftershocks and secondary hazards may occur; water, electricity, phones and rail services may be interrupted. Use official reopening and return instructions.
1. Before the earthquake: the warning may be brief or absent
Japan’s Earthquake Early Warning (緊急地震速報, *Kinkyu Jishin Sokuhō*) detects a quake that has already begun. It is not a prediction of tomorrow’s earthquake. Depending on your location and distance from the source, the alert may provide a few useful seconds, arrive together with the shaking or not reach you beforehand.
You might hear an alarm on your phone, television, radio or public system. You might instead feel the floor move, notice furniture shaking, or hear other people react. The correct first question is not “How big is this earthquake?” It is “Where can I protect my head now?”
At home: drop to your hands and knees if possible. Take cover beneath a sturdy table and hold its legs. If no table is available, stay low beside an interior wall away from windows and cover your head and neck with your arms. Do not cross a room full of moving furniture to reach a distant desk.
In bed: remain there and protect your head with a pillow unless a serious nearby hazard makes that location unsafe. Using a wheelchair: lock the wheels if possible, stay seated and protect your head and neck. The safest position depends on your actual surroundings and mobility.
2. During strong shaking: protection comes before movement
The major immediate dangers may be falling furniture, broken glass, ceiling fixtures, external walls, signs and objects thrown from shelves. It may be difficult to stand or walk. Stay under cover until shaking stops rather than rushing down stairs or through a glass doorway.
- In a shop, school or office: protect your head, avoid shelving and follow trained staff instructions when it is safe to move.
- On a train or in a station: hold a rail if standing and follow crew or station instructions. Train services may stop automatically; do not climb onto tracks.
- Outdoors: avoid walls, shop signs, utility poles, windows and unstable slopes. Choose a clear area if movement is possible without exposing yourself to falling debris.
- Driving: slow down carefully, pull over when safe and follow local road and traffic instructions; do not stop abruptly in a dangerous location.
- In a tall building: movement may feel different and last longer. Do not use lifts; protect yourself first, then check instructions for your building.
Mistake to avoid: the instinct to sprint outside is understandable, but falling glass and masonry can make exits and streets dangerous during shaking.
3. The first moments after shaking: inspect before you step
When the motion stops, do not assume the emergency is over. Pause to check whether anyone is injured, whether glass covers the floor, and whether the route to an exit is clear. Put on sturdy footwear if possible. If you smell gas, avoid flames and electrical switches and get to a safer location; seek professional emergency assistance. Do not attempt repairs.
If you are inside a damaged building, avoid unstable rooms, façades and damaged stairways. Follow evacuation orders and move using safe stairs when appropriate. Do not use an elevator. If you cannot leave safely because routes are blocked, move away from immediate hazards, contact rescuers when possible and make your location known.
Japan has designated evacuation sites and shelters, but they serve different purposes. A place to escape a specific immediate hazard is not automatically a location for overnight accommodation. Check your municipality’s hazard map and its current directions rather than assuming any school, park or hall is suitable for your situation.
4. Coastal Japan: the earthquake may be followed by a tsunami
This is the decision that must not be buried below a general aftershock checklist. If you are on or near the coast, a river mouth or a low-lying tsunami-risk area and feel strong shaking or weak shaking that lasts a long time, head to higher ground or a designated tsunami-evacuation structure as soon as you can move safely. Do not wait to see the sea recede or for an official alert. Follow any tsunami warning or evacuation instruction even if you felt no earthquake.
A tsunami need not arrive as one dramatic wall of water. Currents, rapidly rising water and repeated waves can be deadly. The first wave may not be the largest. Remain away from the shoreline and rivers flowing to the sea until authorities say the danger has passed. A separate tsunami guide is linked below.
JMA issues earthquake and tsunami information through official channels; local governments are responsible for local evacuation directions. A generic distance inland cannot replace your actual evacuation map, terrain and official safe-route signage.
5. The first hour: aftershocks, family contact and official information
Aftershocks can follow a large earthquake. Their timing and intensity cannot be guaranteed in an article. Get back into a protective position if shaking resumes. Avoid cracked structures, broken glass, slopes that might fail and fallen electrical lines.
Use a short, factual message to tell family members you are safe and where you are, if communications are working. Phone networks may be congested. Keep your battery for essential information and contact. When nearby adults, children or visitors seem confused, give one instruction at a time and confirm they understand it.
Check JMA, local-government notices, official broadcasters and evacuation announcements. Verify the time and location of any message before sharing it. An old earthquake map or a video from another prefecture is not evidence of present conditions.
6. The first night and following days: expect disrupted routines
An earthquake may interrupt railways, roads, electricity, gas, water, elevators, schools and hospitals. Some services may continue normally in one district and stop in another. Do not infer safety from the fact that mobile data still works or a train line has reopened nearby.
If you are told to shelter, ask which site is officially designated, whether it is accessible for your needs, and what you should bring. Keep essential medicines, identification, water, phone charging options, appropriate clothing and necessary infant or mobility supplies together if you can do so safely. Do not enter a building posted as unsafe just to retrieve property.
Use safe water and food guidance from your municipality. Do not use generators or fuel-burning stoves inside enclosed rooms. Avoid unnecessary travel through areas with damaged structures, falling debris or emergency operations.
A realistic example: you are a visitor in a Tokyo hotel
You are in a hotel room when an alert sounds and the room begins to shake. You get under a nearby sturdy desk rather than run toward the lift. The movement stops. You put on shoes, check for glass, take your phone and medicine, and listen to hotel staff. The building’s instruction is to remain temporarily in a safe area while the staff assess exit routes. You do not override it merely because people outside are walking.
If the building is damaged or staff direct evacuation, you follow the indicated safe route. You check JMA and local guidance, notify someone where you are, and accept that transport may be delayed. The example illustrates decisions, not a timetable or assurance that every building will behave the same way.
What changes for families, older adults and visitors?
- Children: practise “get low, protect your head, hold on” in ordinary times. During an event, give one calm, concrete instruction and follow the school or caregiver’s authorised release process.
- Older people and people with disabilities: identify accessible safe positions and local assistance arrangements before an earthquake; after shaking, avoid unsafe transfers or stairs and request the assistance appropriate to the building.
- Visitors: learn the hotel or accommodation emergency instructions, save the address in Japanese and know where multilingual information is available. JNTO provides a 24-hour Japan Visitor Hotline on 050-3816-2787 for visitor assistance, not a substitute for 119 or 110 in an immediate emergency.
- Pet owners: follow current shelter and building rules rather than assuming animals can enter every evacuation facility.
Seven dangerous assumptions to correct
- “The alert will give me enough time.” Sometimes it will not; know your protective position now.
- “Outside is always safer.” During shaking, façades, signs and glass may fall.
- “The quake has stopped, so the building is safe.” Structural and utility hazards can remain.
- “A tsunami always starts with the sea pulling back.” It does not; use shaking and official warnings as triggers.
- “One wave means the tsunami has passed.” Multiple waves may follow.
- “The magnitude tells me exactly what I will feel.” Local seismic intensity and building conditions differ.
- “Everyone should go to the nearest shelter immediately.” Follow the hazard, building and municipal instructions; evacuating into danger can make conditions worse.
One-page checklist to prepare before a Japanese earthquake
- Identify your safest position in every frequently used room; secure tall furniture and heavy items ahead of time.
- Check your local municipal hazard map for earthquake, fire, landslide and tsunami evacuation information.
- Save official information sources and 119 (fire/ambulance), 110 (police).
- Plan how household members will check in and who may need extra help.
- Prepare medicines, water, a light, durable shoes and essentials based on household needs.
- Learn your accommodation’s evacuation information and practice a protective movement.
Frequently asked questions
Can Japan predict the exact time and location of an earthquake?
No. JMA Earthquake Early Warnings detect and assess shaking from an event already in progress. They do not reliably forecast a specific future quake’s exact time and location.
Should I run outside as soon as shaking begins?
Usually no. Protect yourself from falling and flying objects where you are, then assess exits after shaking ends and follow the building’s instructions.
How long will aftershocks continue?
They can occur for days, weeks or longer depending on the earthquake sequence. No fixed safe countdown applies; follow official risk information and avoid damaged structures.
What if I am near the coast?
After strong or long shaking, evacuate out of tsunami-risk areas as soon as safe movement is possible. Do not delay for belongings, a perfect phone signal or visible signs on the beach.
What number should I call in Japan?
119 is for fire and ambulance; 110 is police. For visitor advice, JNTO has a separate 24-hour multilingual visitor hotline.
Official sources and what to read next
- Japan Meteorological Agency — Earthquake Information: shaking, seismic intensity and earthquake information.
- JMA — Earthquake Early Warnings: what an alert can and cannot do.
- JMA — Emergency Warning System: tsunami and other urgent warnings.
- Japan National Tourism Organization — Japan Visitor Hotline: verified visitor support and emergency numbers.
- eduKateSG — How Japan Works: Earthquake Warnings, Trains and Disaster Safety: the engineering and warning-system explanation behind the alert.
- eduKateSG — The Gold Standard of Community Disaster Preparedness: community planning rather than immediate rescue instructions.
Reader note (reviewed 2 November 2026): This is a preparedness and decision guide, not a live earthquake bulletin, an official evacuation map or a substitute for emergency responders. Timings and impacts vary. In a real emergency, current JMA, local-government and professional responder instructions take priority.