Are you ready if disaster strikes?

Find out what you need to do by watching this program.

BOSAI: Be Prepared. Our topic this time is: Disaster Breaking News.

Japan is frequently hit by a variety of natural disasters.

How can we ensure our safety in the midst of chaos?

This is a serious issue, especially for foreign residents.

Receiving accurate information is vital at times of disaster.

And NHK WORLD-JAPAN comes in extremely useful for obtaining such information.

Hello! Today I'm here in Shibuya, in Tokyo, and I'm standing right in front of the NHK building.

On today's episode, we're gonna see what goes into the behind-the-scenes of NHK WORLD-JAPAN's emergency disaster broadcasting.

It's a very special chance to get a look inside a Japanese TV studio.

So, I hope you're all excited. Let's go!

When a major disaster occurs in Japan, TV stations interrupt their regular programming to provide up-to-date disaster information.

NHK WORLD-JAPAN not only provides disaster information for overseas viewers on TV,

but also streams the same content live for viewing on smartphones and personal computers, both in Japan and abroad.

Hello!

Today, Abe Takahide, the Editor-in-Chief of NHK NEWSLINE, will show us its disaster services.

Ah, so this is the news floor.

Yes. The next broadcast will start soon, so we're preparing the script and editing the footage.

Wow! There's a lot of people.

Yes. We broadcast around the clock, so we have people here ready to go all the time.

The news studio is located right next to the staff room.

The audiovisual control room is also located next door, enabling rapid emergency reporting at any time.

What role do you think NHK WORLD-JAPAN should play during a disaster?

Well, Japan is a country that is prone to heavy rains, earthquakes, and other natural disasters,

so we need to provide accurate information, as quickly as possible.

I believe that is our role as a public media.

And, since NHK WORLD-JAPAN is watched by many foreigners,

our first priority is to broadcast the latest information quickly, especially considering foreigners who are in Japan.

The NHK WORLD-JAPAN website can be accessed via an Internet browser or an app.

In addition, at the time of a disaster,

a QR code is placed on the NHK's domestic broadcast screen, to provide foreigners with direct access.

What's happening now? Everyone got really quiet all of a sudden.

It feels like the calm before the storm.

We're now conducting an earthquake and tsunami drill.

This is a drill.
An emergency earthquake warning has been issued.

In preparation for a sudden earthquake or tsunami, NHK WORLD-JAPAN conducts a disaster-reporting drill, about once a week.

- Okay. It's just started.
- Yes, let's see.

There are several key factors behind NHK's rapid and accurate reporting.

One is an automated system.

The moment an earthquake occurs, information on the size and location of the tremor is delivered from the Japan Meteorological Agency.

A seismic map and the script to be read by an anchor are created automatically.

The seismic intensity data has arrived!

The seismic map and other visual information are broadcast immediately.

This happens only a few minutes after an earthquake strikes.

An anchor enters the studio, and opens her tablet.

People in southern Mie prefecture, Wakayama prefecture, Tokushima prefecture, Kochi prefecture,

Miyazaki prefecture, a major tsunami warning has been issued in your places.

You need to get to higher ground right now for safety.

The script changes as the situation is clarified minute by minute, and she calls for evacuation.

Another key factor is the selection of which disaster information to dispatch.

The lineup editor supervises the entire news coverage.

From the flood of information coming in, he makes decisions on which items to dispatch and in what order.

Now, tsunami information has come in.

A tsunami has been observed.

- It has?
- Just now.

Let's prioritize observation.

Instructed by the lineup editor, the director immediately displays the tsunami information on the screen.

Everyone's working really hard.

Yes. But unless we do this on a routine basis, our bodies won't be able to react automatically.

So we try to hold the drills as regularly as possible, to help us remember exactly how to respond when a disaster occurs.

It's over now.

Thank you very much.

The drill finishes in about 20 minutes.

It was much more realistic than I'd imagined, and I kind of felt...

...put at ease to see that everyone took it so seriously, and was working so hard.

And we'll continue to make every effort to get the necessary information out, just as quickly as we can.

We asked the anchor who joined the drill what she keeps in mind, when she delivers disaster information to those in the affected areas.

We just say "a tsunami warning is out, so evacuate right now."

We feel like we need to get the message out fast, in a simple way,

and that can lead them to take the appropriate actions right away.

And we don't want them to panic.

- Calm, collected and simple.
- Exactly, because they will know what to do, right?

That's not all NHK WORLD-JAPAN provides.

It offers various useful services.

One is a multilingual translation service.

If you click on the tab in the lower right corner of the screen during the live streaming,

AI will translate the content into nine languages.

And if you download the app to your information terminal,

you can also receive a push notification of earthquakes and tsunamis.

It's also recommended to follow NHK WORLD-JAPAN's SNS accounts.

Generally speaking however, you should be cautious about using social networking sites to gather disaster information.

Anyone can transmit information, right?

But I think it's often impossible to tell whether it is really accurate or not.

Yeah. When you're panicking, you can be even more easily misled by false rumors.

One hundred years ago, we had the major Great Kanto Earthquake,

and we know that, even at that time, there were groundless rumors.

Oh, really?

In fact, at the time of a 2022 typhoon,

confusion was caused when doctored images were spread, making it look as if a city was submerged.

When gathering information on SNS, it's important to be aware of this issue, and confirm that the information is correct.

NHK has reporters all over the country, so we bear it in mind that

information received from various sources should be carefully checked, to ensure that it's correct before we dispatch it.

So as a news organization with a nationwide network, you're fact-checking.

Yes, I think it's important for us to provide such information correctly, so that people can feel secure and trust us.

- To help save those who are watching, right?
- Exactly.