Rakuten Research Announces Results of Survey on Dwellings and Disaster Prevention

Tokyo, August 27, 2015 – Rakuten Research carried out an online survey on dwellings and disaster prevention. The survey was conducted from July 27 to July 28, in which 1,000 men and women from around Japan aged 20 to 69 were selected from among monitors registered with Rakuten Research (around 2.3 million people) to complete the survey. The results from the survey are as follows.

Less than 25% of people chose “earthquake-resistant” land or dwellings as an important point when searching for a place to live
In response to a question about which points (up to three) they consider important when moving houses in the future, the top three responses were “lifestyle convenience” (59.6%), “size and arrangement of rooms” (56.9%) and “price” (48.4%). Only 24.4% of people chose “earthquake-resistant” land or dwellings.

Looking at the people who answered “earthquake-resistant” land or dwelling by age group, people in their 60s accounted for the highest proportion (41.2%), while people in their 20s and 30s accounted for less than 20%. (People in their 20s: 14.1%; people in their 30s: 18.7%). A discrepancy is also apparent between married and unmarried people, with 30.3% of married people citing “earthquake-resistant” land or dwellings as one point, against 15.9% of unmarried people, revealing that married people have a greater tendency to place an emphasis on “earthquake-resistant” land or dwellings. Additionally, around 30% of people who are considering buying a home in the future said “earthquake-resistant” land or dwellings will be one point they will consider, approximately three times the figure for people who are considering renting somewhere to live.


More than half of the people have not prepared emergency equipment at home
When asked whether they are making provisions for a disaster by preparing one or more articles of emergency equipment (safety helmet, emergency food, portable toilet etc.) in their homes, the survey found that the majority of people answered “no” (56.4%). Looked at the results by age group, among people in their 60s, around 60% answered “yes” (59%), and within that, 66.0% of the women in their 60s said they have emergency equipment prepared, the highest proportion among all age groups and both genders.

When asked when they purchased the emergency equipment they have prepared, excluding the 22.0% who answered “don’t know,” the greatest number of people (14.0%) replied 2011, the year of the Great East Japan Earthquake. If the three-year periods before and after 2011 respectively are compared, on average 2.1% purchased the equipment over the three-year period before 2011 (2008 to 2010), against 12.9% who purchased the equipment over the three-year period after 2011 (2011-2013), an approximately six-fold difference.


More than 60% of people “are not taking” disaster-prevention measures at home
In response to a question about whether or not they are taking disaster-prevention measures at their current homes in preparation for a situation in which a disaster (particularly an earthquake) occurs, 61.4% responded that they are not taking any measures. The top 3 measures being taken are “securing large items of furniture (drawers, cupboards, bookshelves, etc.)” (27.0%), “securing large home appliances (TV, air-conditioning, etc.)” (16.8%) and “strengthening window glass (replacing window glass with reinforced glass, etc.)” (5.4%).


Around 40% of people “have not shared” a means of communication among family members when a disaster strikes
When asked if they have shared a way of making contact among family members when a disaster strikes, overall around 40% of the people said they “have not” (42.0%). Among people who said they “have” shared a way of making contact, the greatest number overall replied “phoning their mobile phones” (34.4%), and this was also the most prevalent answer in each age group. This was followed by “emailing their mobile phones” (30.2%). The third most common means of communication cited varied depending on the generation, with people in their 20s, 30s and 40s replying “a social network such as Twitter, Facebook or LINE,” and people in their 50s and 60s replying “an emergency messaging service.”

Survey Overview
Area: Japan
Survey target: Men and women aged 20-69
Samples returned: 1,000
Survey period: July 27 to 28, 2015
Organization conducting survey: Rakuten Research