Japan urges tourists to provide earthquake advice amid surge in flight cancellations

“I don't think enough information and advice is available in other languages ​​for foreign visitors,” said Masaru Takayama, president of Kyoto-based Spirit of Japan Travel.

“Currently, things like hazard maps for earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, etc. are only available in Japanese in most cities because they are designed for residents, not tourists,” he told This Week in Asia.

As a result, foreigners who don't speak or read Japanese won't understand what to do in the event of a major natural disaster, what evacuation routes to take or where to get medical treatment or find shelter, Takayama said.

“There is a complete information gap and national and local governments need to fill that gap because this directly impacts the entire tourism industry,” he said.

A collapsed house is seen in Osaki, Kagoshima Prefecture, after a powerful earthquake struck southwestern Japan on Aug. 8. Photo: Kyodo News

Takayama on Tuesday chaired a meeting specifically called to strengthen protocols for dealing with disasters, including confirming the whereabouts of his company's employees and passengers, ensuring their safety, and overseeing their evacuation and any medical treatment they may need, if necessary.

The Japan National Tourism Organization runs the Japan Safe Travel program, an online platform that provides regular updates via social media about natural disasters and safety tips for visitors. Takayama said such information should also be available in hard copy at various locations across Japan to help foreign tourists.

“I appreciate that this represents additional work for local governments, which are often short on resources, but this is something they need to start providing,” he said, adding that he was confident that ongoing concerns about the potential for a major disaster would prompt local authorities to take action.

“It may take a little longer in the interior and mountainous areas that will be less affected by the tsunami, but it is very important that this starts in the coastal areas and major cities that will be most affected by the disaster,” he added.

Evidence suggests that concerns about seismic activity are deterring foreign travelers from visiting Japan, with the Korea JoongAng Daily reporting a surge in cancellations to destinations in Japan. Similarly, Chinese tourists appear to be avoiding Japan for their summer vacations, with the Global Times reporting that more travelers are canceling hotel and flight reservations to the country.

In June, about 70,000 South Koreans visited Japan, while the total number of foreign arrivals reached a record 3.13 million.

A supermarket sign in Tokyo's Sumida district indicates a limit on bottled water sales after media reports of the earthquake prompted customers to stock up on essentials. Photo: AFP

Ashley Harvey, a travel marketing analyst who has worked in the travel industry in Japan for more than 15 years, said businesses should develop and regularly practice earthquake emergency plans. National and local governments should also provide helpful advice in several foreign languages, especially Chinese and Korean, for dealing with natural disasters, Harvey added.

“Information should be readily available to anyone affected by a disaster, and that probably also means making it available in hard copies at hotels, museums and anywhere else tourists are likely to be, because we must remember that electronic communications were lost in much of northeastern Japan in 2011,” he said.

“All bets are off in the event of a ‘big one,’ but I think the best course of action for foreign visitors is to imitate what the Japanese do,” he said. “If information is not available in their language, they should do what the hotel staff or locals do because they have been preparing for natural disasters their whole lives and will know what to do.”

Immediately after the Aug. 8 quake, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its first warning of a strong quake in the Nankai region. Concerns grew the next day after a 5.3-magnitude quake struck off Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, and a 6.8-magnitude tremor in Hokkaido on Aug. 11. While seismologists say the two subsequent quakes are unlikely to be directly linked to the Nankai region, they coincided with a recent uptick in seismic activity in Japan.

People seek shelter after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Miyazaki, southwestern Japan, on Aug. 8. Photo: Kyodo

On January 1, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake and tsunami devastated large parts of the Noto Peninsula, on Japan's northern coast, killing 318 people.

Government agencies are urging the Japanese public to prepare for a disaster, advising residents of areas considered most at risk to ensure they have adequate supplies of food, water and first aid supplies, and urging them to check evacuation routes and emergency shelter locations.

Local governments in 29 prefectures identified as most vulnerable to the earthquake in the Nankai Basin have begun preparing evacuation centers, while many beaches have been closed. Long-distance bullet trains are running at reduced speeds, and some local railway lines have been temporarily closed.

Experts have suggested that a magnitude 9.0 earthquake in the Nankai region could trigger a 10-meter tsunami that could hit the coast within just three minutes. Depending on the epicenter, the tsunami could also affect some of Japan's largest cities, including Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima and Fukuoka.

Scientists say there is an 80 percent chance of a major earthquake occurring in the Nankai Basin within the next 30 years.

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