One of the hottest selling items in Japan since the Tohoku Earthquake has been the 非常持出袋 “Hijou ji de Bukuro” evacuation bag also known as the 防災セット “Bousai Setto” - Emergency kit. Shortly after the disaster Emergency kits and Equipment displays suddenly shifted from back aisle of large retailers to specially set out tables at the front across Japan. Panic buying saw many sold out on Amazon.co.jp and Rakuten. But who are the main players for Japanese emergency equipment and how do Japanese kits compare to those sold overseas?
Fireman21 (http://www.fireman21.net/) supplies the Tokyo fire service. Their kits are featured in many of Japans Disaster prevention museums and usually have a stall in Tokyo September drill events. However the standard kits offered do not include things such as mobile phone chargers or wind-up torches/radio which would have to be bought separately. There are a variety of other online specialist such as http://www.bousaikan.jp/ and http://bousaishop.net/ who offer a wide range kits including mobile chargers and wind-up units as well as other equipment and supplies. Typical Japanese Emergency kit is sold by the number of items (点）in the kit with prices range from around ￥3000 up to ￥100,000. 
When looking to compare Japanese Emergency kits with those overseas it seems that America leads the way for variety of Emergency kit. Quakekare (www.quakekare.com/) offers Emergency kits for Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Terrorism, Child safety, Pandemic flu, Pets – the list goes on. Many of the kit makers in the USA adhere to the Ready America guidance (www.ready.gov/) provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and mostly focus on 72hour survival provision.
The 72hour survival features in many the kits offered from other countries such New Zealand based (www.Survive-it.co.nz/) and Canadian www.emergencykitscanada.ca. Australian a company The Survival Centre (www.survival-kits.com.au) offers survival kits for bushfire or cyclones but cater for other needs. Even the UK – which is relatively seismically quiet with a magnitude 3.5 happening only around once a year, has a maker of Emergency Earthquake kits; Evacq8 (www.evaq8.co.uk) with a unique twist to their kits being the inclusion of a digital camera to take those all important post disaster photos for insurance claims.
Home emergency kit which resemble large barrels with a toilet shaped lid (see below) that are in the product line up of North American and New Zealand companies are not featured in Japan. Emergency toilet bags and fold down toilets are a much more compact version for the limited space in Japanese homes.
Survival kits from hiking companies such as Coleman, Ortovox or Mont bell can be used as part of an Emergency kit.
Whilst some Japanese emergency equipment can seem rather basic compared to those overseas, there are some innovative companies such as Shinwa who produce a very colorful and distinctive range of Emergency helmet.
Once you have a kit and supplies its not just a matter of put it in the cupboard and forget about it. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department `Earthquake Precautions` manual recommends periodic checking of disaster equipment and emergency supply expiration dates. If you have an overseas emergency kits in Japan its important to check the kits radio frequency range can tune into the local English speaking broadcast frequencies such as; Inter FM (76.1FM) Japan FM (81.3FM), Eagle (810AM), or the bilingual format of NHK1.
This September 1st 2011 marked the 88th Anniversary of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. It is also Japan`s Disaster prevention day which marks the beginning of many community disaster drills and events. The terrible events in Tohoku 3.11 have shown more than ever the relevance of participating in these events and as well as having your own Emergency provision.
