When planning a trip to Japan, many travelers have the same thought:
“Maybe I should install a disaster app, just in case.”
That idea isn’t wrong.
For travelers, disaster apps can certainly be considered a necessary tool.
The problem is that Japan has many of them.
Some focus on earthquake alerts, others cover weather in detail, and some are designed specifically for foreign visitors.
As a result, many travelers end up asking the same question:
“Which one am I actually supposed to install?”
Before going any further, one thing needs to be made clear.
Disaster apps do not make decisions for you.
In principle, no app will tell you whether you should evacuate immediately or whether you are safe.
So why bother installing one at all?
The reason is simple.
To understand what is happening in Japan — in a language you can actually read.
When a disaster occurs in Japan, news and announcements are delivered in Japanese.
There is usually no one nearby explaining the situation in your native language.
As a result, travelers are often left unsure whether what they are experiencing is considered “normal” in Japan — or whether the situation is beginning to change.
In moments like these, disaster apps act as a reference line.
They help you understand how Japanese society is officially treating what has happened.
They don’t tell you what to do.
Instead, they provide background information that makes it easier to interpret the reactions and atmosphere around you.
In this article, we’ll briefly organize the types of disasters that travelers are most likely to encounter in Japan, then look at what disaster apps can — and cannot — actually do.
From there, we’ll consider what a realistic, short-term traveler approach looks like, without overcomplicating things.
1. For Travelers, These Two Disaster Apps Are Enough
For travelers in Japan, the most important piece of disaster information is what is happening right where you are.
The next most important thing is understanding what kind of disaster it is, objectively speaking.
In Japan, information about earthquakes and heavy rain is often broadcast nationwide all at once.
For travelers without local knowledge, this makes it difficult to tell whether a given alert actually relates to their current location.
On top of that, simply receiving notifications does not always make it easy to understand
how serious the situation is in a broader context.
In this chapter, we’ll look at two apps that can help fill that information gap for travelers.
This is not a ranking or a recommendation list.
The goal is simply to clarify the different roles these apps play.
1-1. Safety tips
A notification tool for understanding disaster information related to your current location
Safety tips is an official disaster information app provided by organizations connected to the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), designed specifically for foreign travelers.
It covers multiple types of disasters that travelers are likely to encounter in Japan, all within a single app.
Main types of disasters covered
- Earthquakes
- Tsunamis
- Typhoons and heavy rain
Relationship to your current location
- Uses GPS to automatically display information relevant to where you are
- Makes it easy to distinguish between nationwide alerts and information affecting your specific area
What this app tells you
- What types of disasters are occurring in Japan
- What official warnings or advisories have been issued
- Whether that information relates to the area you are currently in
What this app does not tell you
- What actions you should take
- Whether the situation is “safe” or “dangerous”
- Detailed, on-the-ground conditions or background context
Safety tips is designed to organize and present official information related to your current location.
It does not provide instructions or make decisions on your behalf.
1-2. NHK World-Japan
A news source for understanding what is happening across Japan as a whole
NHK WORLD-JAPAN is not a disaster-specific app.
However, it is widely used by travelers as a way to access information about events in Japan in English, including during disasters.
Its strength lies not in instant alerts, but in the content and tone of its reporting.
Disasters covered
- Earthquakes, typhoons, heavy rain, and other disasters covered as national news
Relationship to your current location
- Information is presented from a nationwide and societal perspective
- Content is not directly tied to your specific location
What this app tells you
- What is being reported as news in Japan
- How seriously a disaster is being treated in the media
- How Japanese society is responding to the situation overall
What this app does not tell you
- Immediate, real-time alerts
- Location-specific warnings or advisories
- Detailed notifications tailored to a particular area
NHK WORLD-JAPAN is best understood as a source for understanding how events are being perceived and discussed across Japan, rather than as a tool for receiving location-based alerts.
In the next chapter, we’ll look at how short-term travelers should realistically prepare, based on the roles these two apps play.
2. A Realistic Way for Short-Term Travelers to Prepare
As we’ve seen so far, disaster apps do not tell you what the “correct” action is.
There is also no single app that can perfectly cover every type of disaster or situation.
With that in mind, the real question is
how far short-term travelers should realistically go when preparing.
My own view is simple.
For a short trip,
having just one app that helps you tell whether a situation relates to where you are is enough,
in my opinion.
In Japan, information about earthquakes and heavy rain is issued frequently.
However, most of these situations do not require any action.
(For a more detailed discussion of how to judge what to do during a disaster, this is covered in a separate article.)
What matters for travelers is not increasing the number of notifications,
but being able to tell
whether the information actually concerns the area where they are staying.
From that perspective, Safety tips is an easy app for short-term travelers to work with.
Not because it is the most advanced, and not because it is “all-purpose”.
- It covers multiple types of disasters
- It shows information linked to your current location
- It does not overwhelm you with excessive alerts
These three points fit well with the reality of short-term travel.
Some travelers may also want to understand what is happening across Japan as a whole,
in addition to the points above.
In that case, a news service such as NHK WORLD-JAPAN can be useful as a supplementary source of information.
Ultimately, the final decision during a disaster is not made by an app, but by you.
The behavior of people around you, the responses of staff, and the overall atmosphere on the ground—
these are the things that have to be considered together.
Disaster apps do not make decisions for you.
They are simply guidelines that help you understand the background behind a situation.
When used with that role in mind,
apps can help reduce anxiety during your trip.
Without relying on them too heavily, and without fearing them more than necessary.
That, in my view,
is the most realistic way for short-term travelers to approach disasters in Japan.
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