Yesterday, we discussed bear attacks in Japan. Today, we’ll focus on related disasters in Japan and what businesses should do in response.
Many readers outside Japan will know that Japan is a disaster-prone country. In addition to its inherent geographical characteristics, some disasters appear to be caused by recent climate change, necessitating even greater preparedness measures than before.
First, let’s look at the types of disasters occurring in Japan.
Four Typical Disasters in Japan
Here, we’ll focus on four typical disasters in Japan: earthquakes and tsunamis, typhoons, non-typhoon floods and landslides, and volcanic eruptions.
There are other disasters that occur in Japan, such as heavy snowfall in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region. Furthermore, due to recent climate change, Japan experiences extreme heat almost every year, with many people being rushed to the hospital due to heatstroke.
Please note that the disasters we’ll discuss here are those that cause particularly large amounts of damage.
Earthquakes and Tsunamis
Of all the disasters in Japan, frequent earthquakes are well known worldwide.
One reason for the high frequency of earthquakes is that the Japanese archipelago is located on the collision point of various tectonic plates. In subduction-zone earthquakes, plates subduct beneath the trench and then break due to the force of their return to their original position. This shaking is called an earthquake.
Powerful subduction-zone earthquakes can also cause tsunamis. The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake not only produced a powerful earthquake over a wide area, but also a massive tsunami. Both the shaking and the tsunami caused extensive damage.
Typhoons
Therefore, compared to earthquakes, typhoons are a disaster that is relatively easy for people outside of Japan to imagine.
One typhoon damage that is still fresh in my memory is Typhoon Faxai, which made landfall in Chiba Prefecture in 2019. Chiba Prefecture is a regional municipality adjacent to Tokyo. This means that it made landfall in an area with a high concentration of people and businesses. In fact, the winds knocked down an iron pole at a golf driving range, causing damage to a neighboring house.
Floods and Landslides Other Than Typhoons
In addition to typhoons, Japan is prone to rain-related flooding, such as linear precipitation bands, where continuous bands of cumulonimbus clouds bring heavy rain for long periods of time. In some cases, these floods can cause levee breaches and landslides, further exacerbating the damage.
Volcanic Eruptions
Japan is home to numerous active and expected volcanoes, from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the south.
The 2014 eruption of Mount Ontake is still fresh in the minds of many Japanese people. Mount Ontake is a volcano in the Chubu region. Its 2014 eruption, which included climbers, resulted in a devastating disaster with 63 deaths and missing.
Mount Fuji, a symbol of Japan, is also a volcano, and has not experienced a major eruption since 1707. Therefore, it is believed that an eruption could occur in the near future. The 1707 eruption also caused ashfall in Edo (present-day Tokyo), and a similar eruption today is predicted to cause damage such as disruptions to power transmission and communications due to ash.
BCP for Companies Entering the Japanese Market
For companies entering the Japanese market, a business continuity plan (BCP) is just as important as a business strategy. While BCP is a common practice around the world, its position in Japan differs. Because earthquakes, typhoons, heavy rains, and volcanic eruptions occur regularly, disaster response needs to be incorporated into everyday life, rather than considered an “exceptional emergency measure.”
Many companies entering the Japanese market for the first time limit their operations to one or two locations to keep initial investments down. Ideally, these locations would be dispersed throughout Japan to reduce disaster risk, but even with a small number of locations, formulating a BCP can help ensure realistic and effective emergency preparedness.
First, clarifying business priorities is important. Since it is impossible to prevent all operations from being interrupted, identify “operations whose interruption would be critical to business continuity” (e.g., payment processing, major customer support, and core systems) and define minimum viable operations. This can be done regardless of company size.
The next step is to ensure data and communication redundancy. Even if you cannot maintain multiple production locations, utilizing cloud-based systems and remote backups can prevent damage to one physical location from directly leading to business shutdowns. Additionally, preparing for power outages and communications disruptions by having multiple communication routes (mobile, fixed, and satellite), as well as emergency power sources, would be a practical measure for small businesses.
Furthermore, a distinctive feature of Japan is that initial disaster response decisions are heavily dependent on coordination with the local government. The local government (city, ward, town, or village office) where the business is located is the primary contact point for disaster response, such as opening evacuation shelters and providing information on road, water, and communications restoration. Therefore, it is important for general affairs, human resources, and safety and health personnel to be aware of contact details and procedures in advance. In addition, fire departments and local disaster prevention departments often cooperate with companies in disaster drills and evacuation route planning.
For companies entering the Japanese market, a BCP is not a “plan to protect everything,” but rather a way to ensure that the minimum necessary business operations can continue without disruption. This is less about capital investment and more about articulating decision-making criteria, communication methods, and initial actions in advance.
Disasters in Japan are not an insurmountable hurdle
Large-scale disasters can result in fatalities, and it’s natural for humans to find them frightening.
At the same time, despite the many major disasters that have occurred throughout Japan’s long history, over 100 million people have continued to live in a land area that is by no means large. Even during the Edo period, when Mount Fuji erupted, Edo was said to have a population of nearly one million, making it one of the largest cities in the world. Though it is in decline, it still ranks as an economic power.
In other words, people have continued to live their lives despite severe disasters. Disasters can be a major hurdle for companies looking to enter the Japanese market, but they are not impossible to overcome.
In fact, I hope that people will learn about Japan’s disasters in order to overcome these significant hurdles.
