Digitalization of Evacuation Shelter Reception Demonstrated in Oarai Town, Ibaraki Prefecture

VACAN Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takeshi Kono; hereinafter "VACAN"), whose mission is "Gently connecting people and spaces with technology" by visualizing congestion with AI technology and providing services utilizing a platform that supports facilities and areas, announces the results of a demonstration experiment on the digitalization of evacuation shelter reception, conducted in collaboration with Ibaraki Prefectural Government and Oarai Town.

## Background
With the recent increase in natural disasters, the importance of disaster countermeasures has grown, aiming to alleviate congestion during evacuation and enable smooth and safe evacuations. VACAN has previously supported rapid and safe evacuations comprehensively by conducting demonstration experiments on digitalizing evacuation shelter reception, providing real-time congestion information, and evacuation shelter maps. In fact, its system is used in over 200 municipalities for visualizing evacuation shelter congestion.

This demonstration aimed to verify that digitalizing evacuation shelter reception reduces the burden on shelter operators and improves the convenience for evacuees.

## Two Types of Entry Methods Verified
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## Verification Results
The demonstration conducted with Oarai Town, Ibaraki Prefecture, showed that the time required for reception, using both Web forms and card readers (My Number Card/driver's license), averaged approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds per person.

Although paper-based evacuee card reception was not implemented this time, paper reception requires "database conversion (transcription and aggregation) of evacuee information." In contrast, Web forms and card readers automatically aggregate data, eliminating this step and allowing for smoother entry.

According to the survey results, positive opinions regarding the convenience of digital reception were confirmed, with responses indicating shorter waiting times (33.3%) and clearer procedures (44.4%) for the digitalization of evacuation shelter reception.

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## Overview of the Demonstration Experiment
Date: Sunday, March 8, 2026
Venue:
Temporary Assembly Point: Oarai Town Oarai Elementary School (5316 Isohamacho, Oarai-machi, Higashiibaraki-gun, Ibaraki Prefecture)
Relay Evacuation Shelter: Toyopet Enjoy Park Oarai (1626 Naritamachi, Oarai-machi, Higashiibaraki-gun, Ibaraki Prefecture)
Participants: Disaster prevention specialists, other municipal staff, etc.
Assumed Disaster: Nuclear disaster
Verification Content:
Measuring the time required for digital reception using Web forms and card readers (My Number Card/driver's license) and verifying convenience.

## About the Evacuee Management System
The Evacuee Management System is a system that significantly reduces the man-hours for disaster response and evacuation shelter operation for municipal staff.

It supports DX for emergency response with limited personnel by providing digitalization of evacuee reception, check-in functionality using My Number Card authentication, material management, automatic generation of evacuee lists, evacuee data linkage, and real-time visualization of congestion status in multiple evacuation shelters.

The number of evacuees and congestion status are reflected in real-time on the management screen and map, allowing municipal staff and disaster response headquarters to grasp the situation without additional work. Residents can also choose appropriate evacuation destinations, supporting smooth evacuations.

Furthermore, the system also offers public facility reservation and community functions for daily use through a common app and management platform.

## Future Outlook
VACAN has so far provided congestion visualization, prediction, and control services for stations, tourist facilities, public facilities, etc., to approximately 300 municipalities nationwide. Through this, it has supported safe and comfortable travel and user experiences for local residents and tourists, contributing to improving the overall "ease of use of space" in society.

Going forward, VACAN will further promote initiatives in the disaster prevention domain and contribute to the DX of public facilities, including evacuation shelters, as a "phase-free platform usable both in ordinary times and emergencies."

In addition, we will comprehensively support the DX of disaster prevention and space operation for entire municipalities through cooperation with existing services such as the regional exchange promotion app "tami tami" and "VACAN Maps."

## About VACAN Inc.
Company Name: VACAN Inc.
Representative Director: Takeshi Kono
Location: 3F Nakarino Auto Building, 2-8-4 Shinkawa, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Established: June 2016
URL: https://corp.vacan.com/
VACAN is a company selected for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "J-Startup" program. With the mission of "Gently connecting people and spaces with technology," it visualizes congestion with AI and builds a platform that updates towns and lives.

It provides "Congestion and People Flow Management" and "Facility and Area Management" services that smartly update spatial experiences, and operates "Un Veil," an in-toilet media.