Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds – Disaster Prevention and MitigationResults of 49th installment announced

The 49th installment of the Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds, launched by The Nippon Foundation in October 2018, was carried out from August 26 to 31 on the subject of “Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.” The survey of 1,000 respondents in Japan aged 17 to 19 was intended to examine young people’s experiences, thinking, and actions with regard to large-scale natural disasters and disaster prevention and mitigation.
More than 80% of respondents expressed concerns regarding disasters being exacerbated by global warming and forecasts of a large-scale earthquake occurring in the next 10 to 20 years, and view the situation with a sense of crisis. At the same time, however, more than half did not know things like the location of their locally designated evacuation center and less than 20% were familiar with the government’s evacuation information guidelines, showing a need for greater public awareness of disaster-related systems and countermeasures.

Highlights of the 49th Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds – Disaster Prevention and Mitigation

Disasters being exacerbated by climate change

  • “Very concerned” + “Somewhat concerned” – 82.6%

Forecasts of a large-scale earthquake occurring in the next 10 to 20 years

  • “Very concerned” + “Somewhat concerned” – 83.8%

Awareness of government’s evacuation information guidelines (published by the Cabinet Office and revised in May 2021)

  • Aware of the revision and familiar with the contents – 18.1%

Knowledge of evacuation centers and evacuation sites (know definition of evacuation site/center but not location + do not know definition or location)

  • Evacuation site (local park, university, etc. for seeking temporary safety) – 56.1%
  • Evacuation center (temporary living quarters) – 55.0%

Top 3 disaster prevention/mitigation measures being carried out

  • Purchase and storing of emergency food and drink – 31.4%
  • Purchase and storing of drinking water – 28.4%
  • Confirmation of evacuation center and evacuation route – 25.0%

Top 3 sources of information were a large-scale disaster to occur

  • Television – 45.2%
  • Twitter – 37.9%
  • Internet search – 34.7%

Organizations with “Sufficient” disaster prevention and mitigation measures in place (“Fully sufficient” + “Somewhat lacking, but mostly sufficient”)

  • Schools – 40.4%
  • Local government – 32.3%
  • National government – 30.8%
  • Local community – 29.0%

Survey Excerpts

Bar chart showing results from Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds: In response to the question, “How concerned are you regarding disasters being exacerbated by climate change in the future?”, among all respondents (n = 1,000), 39.9% replied “Very concerned,” 42.7% replied “Somewhat concerned,” 12.2% replied “Don’t know / Neither concerned nor unconcerned,” 2.1% replied “Not very concerned,” and 3.1% replied “Not at all concerned.” Among respondents living in greater Tokyo (n = 262), 41.2% replied “Very concerned,” 42.4% replied “Somewhat concerned,” 10.7% replied “Don’t know / Neither concerned nor unconcerned,” 1.9% replied “Not very concerned,” and 3.8% replied “Not at all concerned.” Among respondents living in greater Nagoya (n = 101), 37.6% replied “Very concerned,” 47.5% replied “Somewhat concerned,” 10.9% replied “Don’t know / Neither concerned nor unconcerned,” 1.0% replied “Not very concerned,” and 3.0% replied “Not at all concerned.” Among respondents living in greater Osaka (n = 173), 34.7% replied “Very concerned,” 43.9% replied “Somewhat concerned,” 16.8% replied “Don’t know / Neither concerned nor unconcerned,” 2.3% replied “Not very concerned,” and 2.3% replied “Not at all concerned.” Among respondents living in other areas (n = 464), 41.6% replied “Very concerned,” 41.4% replied “Somewhat concerned,” 11.6% replied “Don’t know / Neither concerned nor unconcerned,” 2.4% replied “Not very concerned,” and 3.0% replied “Not at all concerned.”
Level of concern regarding disasters being exacerbated by climate change in the future
Bar chart showing results from Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds: In response to the question, “How concerned are you regarding forecasts of a large-scale earthquake striking in the future?”, among all respondents (n = 1,000), 53.9% replied “Very concerned,” 29.9% replied “Somewhat concerned,” 11.3% replied “Don’t know / Neither concerned nor unconcerned,” 2.3% replied “Not very concerned,” and 2.6% replied “Not at all concerned.” Among respondents living in greater Tokyo (n = 262), 56.5% replied “Very concerned,” 29.8% replied “Somewhat concerned,” 9.2% replied “Don’t know / Neither concerned nor unconcerned,” 1.5% replied “Not very concerned,” and 3.1% replied “Not at all concerned.” Among respondents living in greater Nagoya (n = 101), 56.4% replied “Very concerned,” 28.7% replied “Somewhat concerned,” 9.9% replied “Don’t know / Neither concerned nor unconcerned,” 1.0% replied “Not very concerned,” and 4.0% replied “Not at all concerned.” Among respondents living in greater Osaka (n = 173), 55.5% replied “Very concerned,” 29.5% replied “Somewhat concerned,” 12.1% replied “Don’t know / Neither concerned nor unconcerned,” 0.6% replied “Not very concerned,” and 2.3% replied “Not at all concerned.” Among respondents living in other areas (n = 464), 51.3% replied “Very concerned,” 30.4% replied “Somewhat concerned,” 12.5% replied “Don’t know / Neither concerned nor unconcerned,” 3.7% replied “Not very concerned,” and 2.2% replied “Not at all concerned.”
Level of concern regarding forecasts of a large-scale earthquake striking in the future
Bar chart showing results from Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds: In response to the question, “Are you aware of the definition of an evacuation center and do you know the location of your locally designated center?”, among all respondents (n = 1,000), 45.0% replied “Aware of the definition, and know the location of my locally designated center,” 28.2% replied “Aware of the definition, but don’t know the location of my locally designated center,” and 26.8% replied “Not aware of the definition, and don’t know the location of my locally designated center.” Among respondents living in greater Tokyo (n = 262), 43.9% replied “Aware of the definition, and know the location of my locally designated center,” 24.4% replied “Aware of the definition, but don’t know the location of my locally designated center,” and 31.7% replied “Not aware of the definition, and don’t know the location of my locally designated center.” Among respondents living in greater Nagoya (n = 101), 47.5% replied “Aware of the definition, and know the location of my locally designated center,” 25.7% replied “Aware of the definition, but don’t know the location of my locally designated center,” and 26.7% replied “Not aware of the definition, and don’t know the location of my locally designated center.” Among respondents living in greater Osaka (n = 173), 39.9% replied “Aware of the definition, and know the location of my locally designated center,” 33.5% replied “Aware of the definition, but don’t know the location of my locally designated center,” and 26.6% replied “Not aware of the definition, and don’t know the location of my locally designated center.” Among respondents living in other areas (n = 464), 47.0% replied “Aware of the definition, and know the location of my locally designated center,” 28.9% replied “Aware of the definition, but don’t know the location of my locally designated center,” and 24.1% replied “Not aware of the definition, and don’t know the location of my locally designated center.”
Awareness of local evacuation center

Notes:

  1. From the 13th survey, the number of respondents, comprising men and women aged 17 to 19, has been increased to 1,000 from 800.
  2. With the exception of the 20th and 46th installments, “Awareness Survey of Society and Country,” all surveys cover respondents in Japan only.

Related Link

Contact

Public Relations Team
The Nippon Foundation

  • Email: cc@ps.nippon-foundation.or.jp

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