Updating Evacuation Drills to Create a Society with Zero Earthquake Fatalities.

Our organization supports "April Dream," an initiative that seeks to make April 1st a day for sharing dreams. This press release outlines the dream of the NPO Disaster Mitigation Education Promotion Association.

The Thoughts Behind This Dream

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, suffering significant damage almost every year. However, the "evacuation drills" that are supposed to protect our lives harbor a major structural issue.

In a survey targeting 2,577 educators and childcare providers across 12 prefectures nationwide, 85% responded that they "did not accurately know (or found it different from what they imagined) the assumed disasters and damage in their own regions." Furthermore, 69% answered that "current preparations and drill contents are insufficient (or unknown) for actual scenarios." (Joint research with the College of Risk Management, Nihon University (Professor Yasunori Hada))

Evacuation drills that merely repeat the same procedures and poses every year without knowing "what kind of danger is approaching" will not allow people to exercise "judgment" during an actual disaster where situations change from moment to moment.

The NPO Disaster Mitigation Education Promotion Association aims to fundamentally update these evacuation drills, which "make it difficult to develop judgment," and realize a society where everyone can acquire true "survival skills."

Approach to Realizing the Dream (How We Will Achieve It)

Rather than relying on the willpower of those on the ground, we are advancing a "town-wide disaster prevention update" based on the latest data and safety principles, resting on the following three pillars:

1. Transitioning from "Waiting for Instructions" to "Thinking and Acting for Oneself" Drills (Risk to Action)

Traditional evacuation drills have often been limited to "reproducing motions" by following prescribed movements. We make the government's "regional disaster prevention plans" and "damage assumptions" the starting point of our drills. By firmly connecting the assumed dangers (prerequisites) with actual behaviors, we redesign drills into ones where individuals "think, judge, and act for themselves" in accordance with their current environment and children's developmental stages.

2. Cultivating "Avoidance Techniques Usable in Real Situations" Through Practical Experiential Materials

The "roly-poly bug pose (protecting the head and staying still)," widely taught nationwide, has limitations and can be dangerous regarding the risk of falling objects from the ceiling or during tremors of seismic intensity 6 Upper or higher (a state where you cannot move without crawling).
Therefore, we introduce educational materials such as "YURETA," a mat that lets you experience assumed seismic intensities anywhere, and the disaster mitigation picture-card show "Gatagura." Participants learn avoidance techniques that are truly usable in actual disasters, such as the "frog" or "lizard" poses, which allow people to escape while checking their surroundings for danger even amidst strong tremors.

3. Creating a Community-Wide System That Doesn't Blame Damage on "Someone Else"

Rather than pushing the responsibility for disaster prevention onto specific entities (such as schools or childcare facilities), governments, companies, and local residents share the same damage assumptions.
By concluding partnership agreements and running a cycle of "sharing assumptions → reasonable redesign → implementation → reflection," we establish a "system" where the entire community continuously supports safety together, rather than treating it as a one-off event.

The World We Aim For

From hollowed-out evacuation drills to "experiential and practical" disaster prevention education.

To a society where everyone, from children to the elderly, can prepare for realistic damage scenarios in their community.

A challenge toward the unprecedented goal of zero earthquake fatalities.

#AprilDream
This press release is an April Dream 2026 participation release.
PR TIMES Corporation "April Dream" Project