Nankai Trough Earthquake: Preparedness for "Widespread Damage Risk" Stalls; 70% Recognize Need for Base Relocation/Duplication, But Only 22% Implement = BCP Manager Survey

JX Tsushinsha Co., Ltd. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Katsuhiro Yoneshige; hereinafter "the Company") conducted a survey targeting personnel involved in Business Continuity Planning (BCP) at domestic companies to investigate corporate disaster preparedness awareness and measures for the "Nankai Trough Earthquake."

The results showed that while approximately 70% recognized the necessity of measures such as relocating or duplicating their production and business bases in preparation for the Nankai Trough Earthquake, only 22% responded that they had specifically considered or implemented such measures. This revealed a significant gap between risk awareness and the current state of countermeasures.

Therefore, the Company is making available today a free special report, "BCP Tiger Scroll: Nankai Trough Earthquake Edition," which details the survey results and summarizes the basics of Nankai Trough Earthquake preparedness for corporate business continuity. In conjunction, in June 2026, the Company will hold a webinar in collaboration with Newton Consulting, who have supported many companies in earthquake countermeasures, to explain the "BCP Tiger Scroll: Nankai Trough Earthquake Edition."

Key Points of the Survey

70% of corporate BCP personnel recognize the "Nankai Trough Earthquake" as a "major risk" to business continuity. However, only 31% of companies have formulated BCPs assuming the "Nankai Trough Earthquake."

Looking at specific measures, while 67.6% recognized the necessity of duplicating their production and business bases, only 21.8% had specifically considered or implemented base relocation/duplication, indicating a large gap.

The top reasons for slow progress are "cost and resource constraints" (49.7%), "unclear damage assumptions" (44.9%), and "don't know specific countermeasure methods" (44.3%).

Special report including survey results released for free. Joint webinar with Newton Consulting also scheduled.

▶Download URL for the special report "BCP Tiger Scroll: Nankai Trough Earthquake Edition" (free), including detailed survey results.

Overview of Survey Content

1. "Known to be important but unable to execute" - A serious gap between importance and implementation status

Regarding the formulation of BCPs assuming the Nankai Trough Earthquake, 81.1% (446 people) responded "important" or "very important," while only 31% (171 people) of them responded that they had actually formulated one.

By item, regarding the duplication/diversification of suppliers, 66.4% (365 people) recognized its importance, but only 24.4% (89 people) had implemented it, showing a large gap between recognition and action.

A similar trend was observed for base duplication.

2. 21-point awareness difference between the Pacific side and other regions - but countermeasures at the same level

While 61.1% (165 people / 270 people) of companies with bases on the Pacific side evaluated the Nankai Trough Earthquake as a "major risk," only 40.0% (112 people / 280 people) in other regions did so, a difference of 21.1 points.

However, the implementation status of countermeasures (Q11) was almost at the same level in both regions, highlighting the situation on the Pacific side where "risk is felt but not translated into action."

3. "Real-time information" is the most sought-after external support - 55.8% selected

As for external support expected for future Nankai Trough Earthquake countermeasures, "information services that can grasp disaster and damage situations in real-time" was the most common at 55.8% (307 people).

Next was "clear damage projections from government and local authorities" at 53.1% (292 people). In particular, among those who responded "don't know what level of damage to assume" as a reason for slow progress, the need for damage projection information reached 63.9%, suggesting that a lack of information during both normal and emergency times is a fundamental cause of stalled countermeasures.

BCP Expert Comment: Management's will is indispensable for BCP

In response to this survey, Yoichiro Kuno, CSO & Executive Consultant at Newton Consulting, which handles risk management for many companies, provided comments.

It is anticipated that the Nankai Trough Earthquake will cause more widespread damage and economic impact than the Great East Japan Earthquake. However, this survey found that many companies, despite recognizing the risk, have not made progress in "redundancy of bases" and "diversification of procurement" to maintain their supply chains.

Specific examples of base redundancy include having multiple own bases, utilizing OEMs, and forming agreements with competitors in different regions. It is also advisable to consider measures such as seismic reinforcement and tsunami countermeasures to make facilities and equipment more resilient and quickly recoverable, as well as securing alternative power sources. Regarding procurement diversification, there are also parts that can only be made by specific suppliers, or those that are difficult to replace from the perspective of price, quality, and supply volume. For single-source procurement items, it is important to secure BCP inventory from both raw materials and finished products perspectives.