J-Alert and Emergency Alerts in Japan: Getting Warnings in English

J-Alert and emergency alerts in Japan start with J-Alert, the national instant-warning system that sends missile, earthquake, tsunami, and weather warnings to municipalities by satellite and terrestrial lines and sets off outdoor disaster radio automatically.¹ These warnings arrive in Japanese by default, and a ballistic missile may reach Japan in under 10 minutes, so set up an English-capable channel before the first alert arrives.²

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA) J-Alert pages.

Overview

This article maps every channel that carries a warning, what each alert type asks you to do, and which phones, apps, and city services deliver warnings in English. The national system works the same everywhere in Japan.³⁴

What varies is local. Phone reception and translated alert text depend on your carrier and handset, not your nationality.⁵⁶⁷ Disaster radio content, replay lines, and multilingual city email depend on the city or ward you live in.³⁸⁹

What J-Alert is

J-Alert, formally the National Instant Warning System, transmits urgent information by artificial satellite and terrestrial lines. It automatically activates municipal disaster radio, so a warning reaches residents without anyone relaying it by hand.¹ It began operating in four municipalities in February 2007; weather special warnings were added in 2014 and eruption flash reports in 2016.¹

Three bodies share the work. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA) operates the transmission system under its J-Alert operating regulations.³ The Cabinet Secretariat issues civil-protection information such as ballistic missile alerts, and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issues Earthquake Early Warnings, tsunami warnings, and weather warnings; both pass through FDMA's equipment to prefectures and municipalities.¹

Japanese	Reading	Meaning
全国瞬時警報システム	Zenkoku Shunji Keihō Shisutemu	J-Alert, the National Instant Warning System1
消防庁	Shōbōchō	Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA)3
内閣官房	Naikaku Kanbō	Cabinet Secretariat1
国民保護	kokumin hogo	Civil protection: protecting the public in an armed attack or similar emergency10
防災行政無線（同報系）	bōsai gyōsei musen (dōhōkei)	Municipal disaster radio broadcast through outdoor loudspeakers3
自動起動	jidō kidō	Automatic activation of disaster radio by J-Alert3

The operating regulations list the information types J-Alert carries. The table below follows the regulations as amended on 2026-05-18 and in force from 2026-05-29 (as of 2026-05-29; confirm current figures with the Fire and Disaster Management Agency).³

Information type	Japanese	Disaster radio activation	As of
Ballistic missile information	弾道ミサイル情報	Required	2026-05-293
Air attack information	航空攻撃情報	Required	2026-05-293
Guerrilla or special forces attack information	ゲリラ・特殊部隊攻撃情報	Required	2026-05-293
Large-scale terrorism information	大規模テロ情報	Required	2026-05-293
Other urgent civil-protection information	その他国民保護に関する情報	Required	2026-05-293
Earthquake Early Warning	緊急地震速報	Required	2026-05-293
Major tsunami warning	大津波警報	Required	2026-05-293
Tsunami warning	津波警報	Required	2026-05-293
Eruption warning (residential areas)	噴火警報（居住地域）	Required	2026-05-293
Eruption flash report	噴火速報	Required	2026-05-293
Weather special warnings	気象等の特別警報	Required	2026-05-293
Seismic intensity flash report, tsunami advisory, crater-area eruption warning, weather warnings and danger warnings, tornado advisory, and two legacy Tokai earthquake items	Various	Optional	2026-05-293
Record short-duration heavy rain, hypocenter and intensity information, eruption forecast, weather advisories, and a legacy Tokai survey item	Various	Not listed for activation	2026-05-293

"Required" means a municipality that uses the automatic activator must sound its radio for that type unless it has a legitimate reason not to. For the optional types, the municipality may choose.³

J-Alert versus the alerts on your phone

J-Alert is the backbone, not the message on your phone. When it carries missile information, municipal disaster radio starts automatically and broadcasts from outdoor speakers, and Area Mail (エリアメール, eria mēru) or emergency alert mail (緊急速報メール, kinkyū sokuhō mēru) is delivered to mobile phones.¹⁰ FDMA describes both disaster radio and phone alert mail as the ways J-Alert information reaches residents.¹¹

The phone alert is a carrier broadcast with several senders. docomo's Area Mail delivers JMA Earthquake Early Warnings and tsunami warnings, plus disaster and evacuation information sent by ministries and local governments, which includes civil-protection information such as missile alerts.⁴ The three major carriers broadcast the same categories under their own service names, with civil-protection information arriving via J-Alert.⁷

The diagram shows how a warning travels from the issuing agency to you, drawn from FDMA, Cabinet Secretariat, and carrier descriptions.¹¹⁰⁴⁷

Channel	Who sends it	How it arrives	Language	What it needs from you
J-Alert to disaster radio	Cabinet Secretariat or JMA, through FDMA, to your municipality	Outdoor loudspeakers, and indoor receivers where installed	Japanese; default texts are Japanese and the municipality sets the wording31	Nothing; be within earshot
Area Mail and emergency alert mail	JMA, ministries, and local governments, through carriers	Cell broadcast to handsets in the area	Japanese text; partial translation on some carriers and on iPhone4612	A compatible handset with alerts switched on
City email and LINE	Your city or ward	Opt-in email or LINE message	Varies by city139	Registration with the city
Apps (Safety tips, NHK WORLD-JAPAN, NERV)	App operators	Internet push notification	Several languages, varying by app141516	Install the app and grant permissions
TV and radio	Broadcasters	Broadcast	Mainly Japanese; NHK multilingual audio is reported during tsunami warnings17	A working set

Cities often publish their own channel list. Kawasaki City, for example, lists disaster radio, indoor receivers for organizations and schools, a telephone replay service, city email, phone alert mail, a city disaster app, a portal site, LINE, X, Kawasaki FM, auto-activating disaster radios, TV data broadcast, and cable TV, and advises residents not to rely on a single channel (as of 2025-09-18).¹⁸

Alert types and what each asks you to do

Earthquake Early Warning

An Earthquake Early Warning (緊急地震速報, kinkyū jishin sokuhō) forecasts the arrival time and intensity of strong shaking right after an earthquake starts. Lead time is a few seconds to a few tens of seconds at most, and close to the epicenter the warning cannot arrive before the shaking does.¹⁹

Where J-Alert sounds disaster radio for an Earthquake Early Warning, the default is a chime followed by 「緊急地震速報。大地震（おおじしん）です。」 ("Earthquake Early Warning. A major earthquake."). The default trigger is a predicted intensity of 4 or more in your area with a maximum predicted intensity of 5-lower or more, or long-period ground motion class 3 or more (as of 2026-05-29; confirm current figures with the Fire and Disaster Management Agency).³ Municipalities may vary this setting.³

The warning gives you seconds, not minutes, so act on it at once. How the system works is covered in The Earthquake Early Warning System, and the protective actions in What to Do During an Earthquake.

Tsunami warnings

JMA aims to issue tsunami warnings about 3 minutes after an earthquake, and about 2 minutes in some cases.²⁰ The three categories below are JMA's operating criteria, not statute (as of 2026-10-10).²⁰

Category	Japanese	Expected height	What to do	As of
Major tsunami warning	大津波警報 (ōtsunami keihō)	Over 3 m	Evacuate immediately to high ground or an evacuation building	2026-10-1020
Tsunami warning	津波警報 (tsunami keihō)	Over 1 m, up to 3 m	Evacuate immediately to high ground or an evacuation building	2026-10-1020
Tsunami advisory	津波注意報 (tsunami chūihō)	0.2 m to 1 m	If you are in the sea, get out of the water immediately	2026-10-1020

For very large earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more, the first warning uses qualitative wording such as 「巨大」 ("huge") instead of a numeric height.²⁰ Do not wait for a number before moving.

Major tsunami warnings and tsunami warnings are J-Alert types that must sound disaster radio, and both still reach phones as emergency alert mail.³²¹ The full evacuation procedure is covered in Tsunami Procedure in Japan.

Ballistic missile alerts

The Cabinet Secretariat revised the J-Alert messages for ballistic missiles launched from North Korea in a notice dated 2026-03-31 (as of 2026-03-31).²² The Ministry of Education relayed the notice to schools on 2026-05-08.²³

The revision made three changes. Messages are now classified as a call to take shelter (避難の呼びかけ, hinan no yobikake) or a release of that call (避難解除, hinan kaijo); a new additional-information message lifts the shelter call once safety is confirmed after a missile or debris has fallen; and a passage message now names the prefecture or prefectures the missile passed over.²² The notice states that messages may change according to circumstances.²²

A missile may arrive in under 10 minutes

A ballistic missile may take less than 10 minutes to reach Japan after launch. The Cabinet Secretariat's guidance on receiving a message is to stay calm and take action immediately.²

The nine messages in the notice are summarized below in paraphrase; the wording that reaches you is Japanese. Not every message is sent in every event (as of 2026-03-31).²²

No.	Message	Type	What it tells you	As of
1	Launch	Shelter call	Opens with 「ミサイル発射。」 ("Missile launch") twice; a missile appears to have been launched from North Korea; go inside a building or underground	2026-03-3122
2	Predicted fall	Shelter call	Opens with 「直ちに避難。」 ("Take shelter immediately") twice; gives the expected time and prefecture area of the fall	2026-03-3122
3	Interception	Shelter call	The missile was destroyed by interception; debris may fall; stay indoors for further messages	2026-03-3122
4	Estimated fall	Shelter call	The missile appears to have fallen near a named city at a stated time; stay indoors for further messages	2026-03-3122
5	Passage	Release	The missile appears to have passed over a named prefecture toward a named sea area; the shelter call is lifted; do not approach suspicious objects and contact the police or fire department	2026-03-3122
6	Will not reach Japan	Release	The missile is not expected to fly to Japan; the shelter call is lifted	2026-03-3122
7	Will not fall in Japan	Release	The missile is not expected to fall in Japan; the shelter call is lifted	2026-03-3122
8	Additional information	Release (new)	The shelter call is lifted for all areas; do not approach suspicious objects and contact the police or fire department	2026-03-3122
9	Additional information	Partial release (new)	Same wording as message 8, used when the release covers only some areas	2026-03-3122

The diagram groups the nine messages by type: four ask you to shelter, five lift the shelter call.²²

The Cabinet Secretariat's English leaflet sets out what to do when a shelter call arrives.²

Where you are	What to do
Outdoors, building nearby	Go into a nearby building or underground. A designated emergency temporary evacuation facility (緊急一時避難施設, kinkyū ichiji hinan shisetsu), a sturdy concrete building, or an underground space such as a shopping arcade or subway station is recommended, but any building or underground space is acceptable.2
Outdoors, no building nearby	Hide under anything that may give shelter, or lie flat on the ground and cover your head.2
Indoors	Move away from windows, or into a room without windows.2
Missile has hit nearby, outdoors	Cover your mouth and nose with a handkerchief, move away from the impact zone, and shelter in a well-sealed building or move upwind.2
Missile has hit nearby, indoors	Turn off ventilation, close windows, and seal openings.2

The Cabinet Secretariat also updated its multilingual missile-action materials in English, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese, posted on the English Civil Protection Portal (as of 2026-03-31).²²

Weather special warnings and evacuation instructions

What reaches phones in bad weather is disaster and evacuation information that local governments send through the carriers.⁴ Evacuation information uses a five-level scale, and the national message is to evacuate by Level 4 without fail.²⁴

JMA no longer sends special warnings to phones

JMA stopped sending weather and volcanic special warnings as emergency alert mail at 14:00 on 2022-12-26.²¹ They still travel by J-Alert, and municipalities must sound disaster radio for them.³

JMA began new level-numbered weather information in late May 2026, naming warnings with their level for river flooding, heavy rain, landslides, and storm surge (as of 2026-05).²⁵²⁴ J-Alert's information list now includes weather warnings and danger warnings as an optional radio type.³

Level	Evacuation information from your municipality	JMA weather information name (from late May 2026)	As of
5	緊急安全確保 (kinkyū anzen kakuho), emergency safety measure24	特別警報 (tokubetsu keihō), special warning25	2026-0525
4	避難指示 (hinan shiji), evacuation instruction24	危険警報 (kiken keihō), danger warning25	2026-0525
3	高齢者等避難 (kōreisha-tō hinan), evacuation of older people and others24	警報 (keihō), warning25	2026-0525
2	–	注意報 (chūihō), advisory25	2026-0525

What each evacuation level asks of you is covered in The Evacuation Advisory Tiers in Japan, and how to find your own risk zone in Hazard Maps (Hazado Mappu) in Japan.

Volcanic and other national alerts

Eruption warnings for residential areas (噴火警報（居住地域）) and eruption flash reports (噴火速報) are J-Alert types that must sound disaster radio; crater-area eruption warnings are optional.³ Volcano-specific guidance is in Volcanic Eruption Awareness in Japan.

Besides missiles, the civil-protection types are air attack, guerrilla or special forces attack, and large-scale terrorism information. Large-scale terrorism information is limited to cases certified as an emergency response situation under the law on armed-attack situations or an equivalent.³

For these types the regulations give a default disaster-radio text that the municipality may adapt. The air attack default, for example, warns of a possible air attack on the area and ends 「屋内に避難し、テレビ・ラジオをつけてください。」 ("Take shelter indoors and turn on the TV or radio.") (as of 2026-05-29).³

How these types reach residents varies by municipality. Bunkyo City in Tokyo, for example, sends ballistic missile, air attack, guerrilla, and large-scale terrorism information by disaster radio along with emergency mail and apps.⁸

Residents near a nuclear plant will find zone-specific guidance in Nuclear Incident Contingency in Japan.

Megaquake advisories: Nankai Trough and Hokkaido/Sanriku

Two advisories from JMA and the Cabinet Office warn that the chance of a large earthquake is higher than normal for a set period. They ask for heightened readiness, not evacuation, and they concern specific source regions rather than the whole country.²⁶²⁷²⁸

Japanese	Reading	Meaning
南海トラフ地震臨時情報	Nankai Torafu jishin rinji jōhō	Nankai Trough Earthquake Extraordinary Information29
巨大地震注意	kyodai jishin chūi	Megaquake Advisory29
巨大地震警戒	kyodai jishin keikai	Megaquake Warning29
北海道・三陸沖後発地震注意情報	Hokkaidō・Sanriku-oki kōhatsu jishin chūi jōhō	Hokkaido/Sanriku subsequent earthquake advisory30

A Nankai Trough Megaquake Advisory lasts basically one week from the triggering earthquake. A Megaquake Warning lasts two weeks, with pre-evacuation in the first week only in areas where evacuating after a quake would be too late.²⁹ Under an Advisory, the guidance for individuals is to carry on normally while staying ready to flee at any time.²⁹

The Hokkaido/Sanriku advisory tells residents to reconfirm their everyday preparedness and to evacuate immediately on shaking or a tsunami warning, following government and municipal instructions.²⁸

Date issued	Advisory	Trigger and outcome
2024-08-08	Nankai Trough Earthquake Extraordinary Information	Followed a 16:43 earthquake in the Hyuga-nada; the government's special call for caution ended at 17:00 on 2024-08-1526
2025-12-09, 02:00	Hokkaido/Sanriku subsequent earthquake advisory	First issuance; residents asked to reconfirm earthquake preparedness30
2026-04-20, 19:30	Hokkaido/Sanriku subsequent earthquake advisory	Followed a 16:52 earthquake off Sanriku; one-week special call for caution, ending at 17:00 on 2026-04-27; residents asked to reconfirm preparedness and continue daily activities27

Neither advisory appears in the J-Alert operating regulations' list of information types (as of 2026-05-29), nor in docomo's list of Area Mail content.³⁴ Both are announced by JMA and the Cabinet Office.³⁰²⁷

How alerts reach your phone

Area Mail and emergency alert mail

Phone alerts are cell broadcasts: the carrier sends one message to every compatible handset in the affected area. docomo calls the service Area Mail; au and SoftBank call it emergency alert mail.⁴⁷ Rakuten Mobile names ETWS (Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System), the cell-broadcast standard, as the handset requirement.³¹

The figures below come from each carrier's own page (as of 2026-10-10; confirm current figures with each carrier's emergency alert page).

Carrier	Service name	Cost	Sign-up	As of
NTT docomo	緊急速報「エリアメール」 (Area Mail)	Free: no monthly fee, data charge, or information charge	Not required	2026-10-104
au (KDDI)	緊急速報メール (emergency alert mail)	Information and data charges free	None stated; reception settings on the device are needed	2026-10-106
SoftBank	緊急速報メール (emergency alert mail)	Free; unaffected by network congestion	None stated	2026-10-1032
Rakuten Mobile	Emergency alerts via ETWS	Not stated	Device must be ETWS-capable and Rakuten-compatible	2026-10-1031

Rakuten's FAQ names only ETWS as the requirement and does not list which alert types it carries.³¹ docomo notes that iPad does not support Area Mail (as of 2026-10-10).⁴

Alerts work only inside Japan. docomo states that Area Mail cannot be received when the phone is off, in airplane mode, out of coverage, or on a poor signal, and is receivable only in Japan.⁵ au describes its service as domestic only.⁶

No carrier page reviewed for this article covers MVNOs, the budget carriers that rent capacity on the major networks. If you use one, install one of the alert apps below as a backup.

SIM-free, imported, and foreign-SIM phones

On 2017-12-25, docomo, KDDI, and SoftBank agreed a common Android reception specification through the Telecommunications Carriers Association. It targets Android 8.1.0_r9 or later, says SIM-free devices "can be expected" to receive alerts, and tells users to check each carrier's site for compatible devices.⁷

The carriers stop short of a guarantee for phones they did not sell. docomo states that on Android 8.1 or later, a SIM-unlocked phone with another carrier's SIM receives that carrier's alert mail by specification, but that Area Mail has not been tested on non-docomo devices and "may not be usable".⁵ SoftBank says SIM-unlocked devices on other carriers' SIMs may receive alerts but does not guarantee compatibility.³²

For iPhone, Apple supports alerts in Japan when you use a SIM card or eSIM from a supported carrier, and lists docomo, KDDI, and SoftBank (as of 2026-03-10).¹² Rakuten Mobile separately publishes iPhone setup steps for alerts on its own line (as of 2026-10-10).³¹

Dual-SIM iPhones can miss alerts on Rakuten

Rakuten's FAQ attributes some missed alerts to line selection. If you run two SIMs on an iPhone, check that automatic data-line switching is turned off (as of 2026-10-10).³¹

No carrier or Apple source reviewed covers foreign SIMs roaming on a Japanese network. If your phone runs on a foreign SIM, install an alert app as a backup rather than counting on cell broadcast. Choosing a domestic plan is covered in Mobile Plan Considerations for Foreign Residents.

Turning alerts on: iPhone and Android settings

Menu paths change between OS versions and handset makers. The paths below are as each source states them (as of 2026-10-10 unless the row says otherwise).

Device	Path	As of
iPhone (Japan)	Settings > Notifications > scroll to the bottom > Emergency Alerts (緊急速報)	2026-03-1012
iPhone on au	Settings > Notifications > turn on 「緊急速報」; iPhones arrive with alerts on by default	2026-10-1033
Android on au	Settings > 「アプリと通知」 (Apps and notifications) > 「緊急速報メール」 > 「緊急速報メールの許可」 (Allow); some devices use 「サウンドとバイブ」 (Sound and vibration) for the first step	2026-10-1033
Android on Rakuten Mobile	Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Emergency alerts > Allow	2026-10-1031
Google Pixel	Settings > Notifications > Wireless Emergency Alerts (Google's help page lists US-oriented categories; use it for the path only)	2026-10-1034

An Apple Watch receives Japan alerts when its paired iPhone can receive them and is nearby, or when the Watch is on Wi-Fi. A Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) or later Watch with a supported-carrier plan can receive them on its own (as of 2026-03-10).¹²

You cannot send yourself a test. Apple's test-alert toggle is US-only (as of 2025-12-19), and J-Alert's nationwide tests do not send alert mail to phones.³⁵³⁶³⁷

What language phone alerts arrive in

Phone alerts arrive in Japanese unless your carrier or OS translates them, and translation is partial. Older guides that describe docomo's Area Mail app translating municipal disaster and evacuation information are out of date: that feature ended on 2024-02-29, though docomo states that Earthquake Early Warnings and tsunami warnings are still received in the device's language setting.⁴ In 2016 the app feature had covered municipal disaster and evacuation information in English, Chinese, and Korean on top of already-translated earthquake and tsunami warnings.³⁸

The table summarizes what each carrier and Apple state (as of 2026-10-10).

Carrier or OS	Translation	As of
docomo	Earthquake Early Warnings and tsunami warnings are received in the device's language setting; the Area Mail app's translation of disaster and evacuation information ended 2024-02-29, and docomo suggests copying those messages into a translation app	2026-10-104
au	Earthquake Early Warnings and tsunami warnings display in English, Chinese (traditional or simplified), Korean, Portuguese, or Spanish when the device language is set to one of them; other device languages get an English voice readout. On iPhone, the multilingual display requires iOS 13.4 or later.	2026-10-106
SoftBank	No translation feature mentioned	2026-10-1032
iPhone (Apple)	"Alerts sent to your device are translated into the language that you have set on your device", describing earthquake alerts, tsunami alerts, and other disaster information	2026-03-1012

Apple's statement does not say whether missile alerts or free-text municipal messages are translated. Treat those as arriving in Japanese and use an app for an English version.¹²

Disaster radio, TV, and municipal services

Outdoor disaster radio (bōsai musen)

J-Alert automatically activates municipal disaster radio, the outdoor loudspeakers known as 防災行政無線 (bōsai gyōsei musen), usually shortened to 防災無線 (bōsai musen).³¹¹⁰ Missile alerts use the national civil protection warning siren.¹⁰

Each municipality may adapt the regulations' default broadcast texts to local conditions, and for civil-protection broadcasts it sets how many times to repeat the message, at least twice.³ Chuo City in Tokyo broadcasts ward-wide, even late at night, through outdoor speakers, emergency announcement radios, and alert mail.³⁹

The regulations' default texts are in Japanese.³ Whether any translated broadcast follows depends on your municipality, so check your city or ward's disaster page. Kawasaki City also lists indoor receivers (戸別受信機, kobetsu jushinki) for organizations and schools among its channels.¹⁸

Replaying a broadcast you missed

Some municipalities let you replay a broadcast by phone or receive the same content by email. The examples below are specific to each city and do not apply elsewhere (as of 2026-10-10; confirm current figures with Bunkyo City and Kawasaki City).

Municipality	Service	Access	Notes	As of
Bunkyo City (Tokyo)	Broadcast content check by phone	03-6801-5629	Content available for 24 hours	2026-10-108
Kawasaki City	防災テレホンサービス (disaster telephone service)	0120-910-174, free from landlines and payphones; 044-245-8870 from smartphones, call charges apply	Replays disaster radio content	2026-10-1040
Kawasaki City	Mail News Kawasaki 「防災気象情報」 (disaster and weather information)	Opt-in email	City disaster and weather information; registration required	2026-10-101840

Municipal disaster email and LINE in English

Some cities send disaster information in English and other languages, or in easy Japanese (やさしい日本語, yasashii nihongo), simplified Japanese written for non-native readers.⁹ These services are opt-in; register on the city's page.

Miyazaki City has offered easy-Japanese and multilingual versions of its disaster email since 2022-10-01 (as of 2022-10-01). The languages are English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Nepali, and the content covers evacuation, weather, earthquake, tsunami, river, and volcano information along with a 3-day forecast, heatstroke alerts, and city notices.⁹

Kawasaki City relaunched its LINE official account on 2026-02-19 with a disaster menu that runs from everyday preparedness to evacuation information during a disaster (as of 2026-02-18).¹³ Language settings cover seven languages besides Japanese: English, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Filipino (Tagalog), and Vietnamese. Some content stays Japanese-only, the service is free apart from data charges, and a LINE account is required.¹³

Other cities run their own services, or none. Check your city or ward's disaster page for what is available where you live.

TV and radio

NHK's multilingual tsunami audio is documented in a 2026 academic analysis by the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, rather than on NHK pages reviewed for this article (as of 2026). Examining NHK tsunami warnings from 2010 to 2024, it describes a broadcast directing viewers to "TSUNAMI Multiple Languages on Audio Subchannel, Radio 2" for automated messages in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Portuguese, with sign language and English captions on screen.¹⁷

The same analysis notes that the instruction to switch audio appears only at the bottom of the screen.¹⁷ Learn where your TV's audio-channel setting is before you need it.

JMA publishes a multilingual dictionary of Earthquake Early Warning and tsunami warning expressions in English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and easy Japanese. It was first released on 2015-03-30 and revised on 2015-10-29 to add tsunami terms.⁴¹

Local broadcasting varies by city. Kawasaki City lists terrestrial digital TV data broadcast and Kawasaki FM (79.1 MHz) among its disaster channels (as of 2025-09-18).¹⁸

English-capable alert apps

Safety tips

Safety tips was developed under the supervision of the Japan Tourism Agency and is operated by RC Solution Co., Ltd.¹⁴⁴² It is free and sends push alerts for Earthquake Early Warnings, tsunami warnings, eruption flash reports, weather warnings, typhoon information, heatstroke information, civil-protection information, and evacuation information (as of 2026-10-10; confirm current figures with the Safety tips official app page).¹⁴

An Earthquake Early Warning is sent when seismic intensity 4 or higher is forecast for your registered point (as of 2026-10-10).¹⁴ The app runs in 15 languages including Japanese: English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Tagalog, Nepali, Khmer, Burmese, and Mongolian (as of 2026-10-10).¹⁴⁴²

Safety tips has carried J-Alert civil-protection information in multiple languages since March 2018.⁴³ From 2026 it also links to the Civil Protection Portal: the Japanese setting opens the Japanese portal, and other languages open the English portal (as of 2026-03-31).²²

NHK World-Japan app

The NHK WORLD-JAPAN app sends push notifications for earthquake, tsunami, and weather emergency warnings, plus English-only breaking news and editor's picks (as of 2026-10-10).¹⁵ Emergency notifications come in 11 languages: English, Chinese, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese (as of 2026-10-10).¹⁵

Trade press reported the expansion of emergency alerts from 4 to 11 languages on 2025-04-24 (as of 2025-04-24).⁴⁴ The app's wider figure of 19 languages applies to its content, not its emergency notifications (as of 2026-10-10).¹⁵

The app page does not list J-Alert, missile, or civil-protection messages among its notifications.¹⁵ For missile alerts in English, use an app whose operator names them, such as Safety tips or NERV.

NERV Disaster Prevention

NERV Disaster Prevention is developed by Gehirn Inc. and is free, with optional paid plans (as of 2026-10-10).⁴⁵¹⁶ It alerts for earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, weather warnings, heavy rain, flooding, landslides, and J-Alert civil-protection information (as of 2026-10-10).⁴⁵

The App Store lists its languages as English and Japanese (as of 2026-10-10).¹⁶ Its data comes over a leased line connected to JMA, and it converts your GPS coordinates to an area code on the device before sending anything.⁴⁵¹⁶

For imminent danger such as an Earthquake Early Warning or tsunami warning, NERV can use iPhone Critical Alerts, which break through Silent mode, Do Not Disturb, and Focus and sound at maximum volume.⁴⁵

Setting up apps so they actually alert you

The table compares the three apps on the points their operators publish (as of 2026-10-10).

App	Operator	Alert languages	Alert types	Location	As of
Safety tips	RC Solution (Japan Tourism Agency supervised)	15, including Japanese	Earthquake Early Warning (intensity 4+), tsunami, eruption, weather, typhoon, heatstroke, civil protection, evacuation	Registered forecast point	2026-10-1014
NHK WORLD-JAPAN	NHK	11	Earthquake, tsunami, weather emergency warnings	Not stated	2026-10-1015
NERV Disaster Prevention	Gehirn Inc.	English and Japanese	Earthquake, tsunami, volcano, weather, heavy rain, flooding, landslide, J-Alert civil protection	GPS converted to an area code on the device	2026-10-104516

Safety tips stops alerting if the location lapses

If the forecast-point setting in Safety tips has not been updated for more than one month, the app stops sending notifications to that device, unless automatic location setting is turned on (as of 2026-10-10).¹⁴ Open the app and confirm your location from time to time.

On iPhone, grant NERV the Critical Alerts permission if you want earthquake and tsunami alerts to sound through silent settings.⁴⁵

Treat apps as a supplement to cell broadcast, not a replacement. Carrier alerts need no app or sign-up and cost nothing, while an app can stop notifying if its settings lapse.⁴¹⁴

Good to know

Nationwide J-Alert test days

J-Alert is tested nationwide, in principle four times a year since FY2018. The test plays a rising four-tone chime, the phrase 「これは、Jアラートのテストです。」 ("This is a J-Alert test.") three times, the municipality's call sign, and a falling chime.⁴⁶

For FY2026, the first test moved from 2026-06-03 to 2026-07-01 because of a typhoon; Mie Prefecture cites Typhoon No. 6 (as of 2026-06-03; confirm current figures with your prefecture's disaster page).⁴⁷⁴⁸ The remaining tests are 2026-08-26, 2026-11-11, and 2027-02-03, all at 11:00 (as of 2026-06-03).⁴⁷⁴⁹

Municipalities list the schedule differently. Kobe describes the June test as cancelled rather than postponed, and Chuo City lists backup dates of 2026-11-25 and 2027-02-17.⁵⁰³⁷

Your phone will not sound during a test. Hyogo, Kobe, Chuo City, and Sendai each state that alert mail is not sent to phones during these tests (as of 2026-09-03).^50363749 Some cities add their own channels; Sendai also sent its test by city LINE, its crisis-management X account, and its tsunami information system (as of 2026-08-17).⁴⁹

No alert does not mean no danger

Alerts can arrive too late or not at all. An Earthquake Early Warning gives seconds to tens of seconds of warning and may not arrive in time near the epicenter, and a ballistic missile may reach Japan in under 10 minutes.²¹⁹

A phone receives nothing when it is off, in airplane mode, or without signal.⁵ J-Alert transmission itself may be suspended during power or system maintenance or a failure, and municipalities may skip automatic radio activation in the same cases.³

Act on what you feel, not only on what you receive. JMA's megaquake guidance asks residents to be ready to evacuate immediately on shaking or a tsunami warning, and a tsunami warning means evacuate to high ground at once.²⁰²⁸

Silent mode and Do Not Disturb on alert sounds

docomo states that on iPhone, an Area Mail Earthquake Early Warning always sounds at maximum volume (as of 2026-10-10).⁵ SoftBank says alerts sound in silent or vibrate mode on most devices, but some older models, such as the HUAWEI nova lite 2, some AQUOS models, and the HTC U11, make no sound when silenced (as of 2026-10-10).³²

For apps, NERV's Critical Alerts override Silent mode, Do Not Disturb, and Focus for Earthquake Early Warnings and tsunami warnings.⁴⁵

Phone alerts are only partly translated

Translation of phone alerts is partial. On docomo and au, only Earthquake Early Warnings and tsunami warnings follow the device language, docomo's app translation of disaster and evacuation information ended on 2024-02-29, and SoftBank's page mentions no translation feature.⁴⁶³²

NHK's multilingual tsunami audio, as described in a 2026 academic analysis, requires switching to the audio subchannel or Radio 2, and the instruction appears only at the bottom of the screen.¹⁷

A few Japanese words make the first message readable: 避難 (hinan, evacuate or take shelter), 津波 (tsunami), 地震 (jishin, earthquake), ミサイル (misairu, missile), 建物の中 (tatemono no naka, inside a building), 地下 (chika, underground), and 解除 (kaijo, lifted). Each appears in the official message and warning texts.²²²⁰

Old guides use outdated labels

Check the date on any guide you read. The evacuation advisory (避難勧告) was abolished on 2021-05-20 and merged into the evacuation instruction (避難指示), and Level 5 became 緊急安全確保.⁵¹

The missile message categories and wording changed under the Cabinet Secretariat notice dated 2026-03-31 (as of 2026-03-31).²² The same notice renewed the Civil Protection Portal and moved its shelter search to kokuminhogo-map.go.jp (as of 2026-03-31).²²

Weather warnings gained level-numbered names from late May 2026, such as the Level 4 danger warning (as of 2026-05).²⁵²⁴ Guides that say JMA sends weather special warnings to phones as alert mail predate 2022-12-26, and guides that say docomo's Area Mail app translates municipal disaster and evacuation information predate 2024-02-29.²¹⁴

See also

• Japan Emergency Numbers: 110, 119, #7119, #8000, and 118
• Emergency Language Help in Japan: Interpreters
• Designated Shelters (Hinanjo) in Japan
• The Household Earthquake-Preparedness Kit

References

Footnotes

1. 消防庁. 「令和7年版 消防白書」 第3章第1節 「2．Jアラートによる迅速な情報伝達」. https://www.fdma.go.jp/publication/hakusho/r7/chapter3/section1/69260.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. Cabinet Secretariat Civil Protection Portal Site. "Actions in case of a missile flying to Japan" (English leaflet, PDF). https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/en/pdf/action(English).pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

3. 消防庁 (Fire and Disaster Management Agency). 「全国瞬時警報システム業務規程」 (J-Alert operating regulations), amended 令和8年5月18日, in force 令和8年5月29日. https://www.fdma.go.jp/mission/protection/items/protection001_05_J-ALERT_gyomu_kitei_r80518.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵

4. NTTドコモ. 緊急速報「エリアメール」 service page. https://www.docomo.ne.jp/service/areamail/index.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

5. NTTドコモ. 緊急速報「エリアメール」 ご注意事項. https://www.docomo.ne.jp/service/areamail/notice/index.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

6. KDDI (au). 「緊急速報メール」 service page. https://www.au.com/mobile/anti-disaster/kinkyu-sokuho/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

7. 一般社団法人 電気通信事業者協会 (TCA). 「Android™ における緊急速報『エリアメール』及び『緊急速報メール』の共通受信仕様を策定（更新）」, 2017-12-25 (updated 2018-01-17 and 2018-01-25). https://www.tca.or.jp/topics/2017/1225_844.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

8. 文京区. 「全国瞬時警報システム（Jアラート）」. https://www.city.bunkyo.lg.jp/b009/p000197.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

9. 宮崎市 危機管理部. 記者配付資料 「宮崎市防災メール『やさしい日本語』『多言語』配信サービス開始について」 (PDF). https://www.city.miyazaki.miyazaki.jp/fs/7/3/5/6/4/3/_/735643.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

10. 内閣官房 (Cabinet Secretariat). 国民保護ポータルサイト 「Jアラート」 page. https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/kokuminaction/jalert.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

11. 消防庁. 「全国瞬時警報システム（Jアラート）」 overview page. https://www.fdma.go.jp/about/organization/post-18.html ↩

12. Apple Support. "Set up emergency alerts for Japan on iPhone" (article 102295), published 2026-03-10. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102295 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

13. 川崎市（総務企画局）. 報道発表資料 「川崎市LINE公式アカウントをリニューアル！」, 令和8年2月18日 (PDF). https://www.city.kawasaki.jp/templates/prs/cmsfiles/contents/0000184/184770/houdou2.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³

14. アールシーソリューション株式会社. 「Safety tips」 official app page (Japanese). https://www.rcsc.co.jp/safety-tips-jp ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

15. NHK WORLD-JAPAN. App page (read via r.jina.ai proxy; direct fetch blocked). https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/app/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

16. Apple App Store. "NERV Disaster Prevention" listing (Gehirn Inc.). https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nerv-disaster-prevention/id1472338480 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

17. Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder. Amy Takebe, "Information as a Human Right: Inclusive Multilingual Tsunami Warnings in Japan", 2026. https://hazards.colorado.edu/news/research-counts/information-as-a-human-right-inclusive-multilingual-tsunami-warnings-in-japan ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

18. 川崎市. 「災害時の情報入手方法」. https://www.city.kawasaki.jp/601/page/0000175347.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

19. 気象庁 (Japan Meteorological Agency). 「緊急地震速報とは」. https://www.data.jma.go.jp/eew/data/nc/shikumi/whats-eew.html ↩ ↩²

20. 気象庁. 「津波警報・注意報、津波情報、津波予報について」. https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/kishou/know/jishin/joho/tsunamiinfo.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

21. 気象庁 企画課. お知らせ 「気象等及び噴火に関する特別警報の緊急速報メールの配信終了日時について」, 令和4年12月13日 (PDF). https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/press/2212/13a/20221213.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³

22. 内閣官房国家危機管理室. 閣副事態第186号 「北朝鮮による弾道ミサイル等の発射に係る全国瞬時警報システム（Ｊアラート）等の情報伝達及び国民保護ポータルサイト等の変更について」, 令和8年3月31日, with 別紙1 and 別紙2 (PDF attachment). https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20260521-mxt_kyousei01-000050051_1.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹

23. 文部科学省. 「北朝鮮による弾道ミサイル等の発射に係る全国瞬時警報システム(Jアラート)等の情報伝達及び国民保護ポータルサイト等の変更に関する周知について(依頼)」, 令和8年5月8日 (host page for the Cabinet Secretariat notice). https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/kenko/anzen/1421128_00021.html ↩

24. 内閣府（防災担当）. 「避難情報に関するガイドライン」 改定 page. https://www.bousai.go.jp/oukyu/hinanjouhou/r3_hinanjouhou_guideline/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

25. 気象庁. 報道発表 「新たな防災気象情報の運用について」, 令和7年12月16日. https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/press/2512/16a/20251216_taikeiseiri.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

26. 内閣府政策統括官（防災担当）・気象庁. 報道発表 「南海トラフ地震臨時情報（巨大地震注意）に伴う政府としての特別な注意の呼びかけの終了について」, 令和6年8月15日. https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/press/2408/15a/202408151800.html ↩ ↩²

27. 気象庁・内閣府政策統括官（防災担当）. 報道発表 「北海道・三陸沖後発地震注意情報について」, 2026-04-20 19:30, with 別添2 「北海道・三陸沖後発地震注意情報の発表に伴いとるべき防災対応」 (PDF). https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/press/2604/20b/nceq202604201920.html and https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/press/2604/20b/nceq02.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³

28. 気象庁. 「北海道・三陸沖後発地震注意情報」 explanatory page. https://www.data.jma.go.jp/eew/data/nceq/index.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

29. 内閣府（防災担当）. 南海トラフ地震臨時情報 e-ラーニング (個人向け) 振り返りページ. https://www.bousai.go.jp/jishin/nankai/rinji/nankai_e_learning/kojin/review/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

30. 気象庁・内閣府政策統括官（防災担当）. 報道発表 「北海道・三陸沖後発地震注意情報について」, 2025-12-09 02:00. https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/press/2512/09b/nceq202512090200.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

31. 楽天モバイル. FAQ 「緊急速報が届かない場合どうすればよいですか？」. https://network.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/faq/detail/10000272/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

32. ソフトバンク. 「緊急速報メール」 service page. https://www.softbank.jp/mobile/service/urgent_news/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

33. KDDI (au). 「緊急速報メール」 使い方 (settings) page. https://www.au.com/mobile/anti-disaster/kinkyu-sokuho/usage/ ↩ ↩²

34. Google Pixel Phone Help. "Manage Wireless Emergency Alerts". https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/16786430?hl=en ↩

35. Apple Support. "Government, Emergency and Enhanced Safety Alerts on iPhone" (article 102516), published 2025-12-19. https://support.apple.com/en-au/102516 ↩

36. 兵庫県. 「令和8年度全国瞬時警報システム(Jアラート)全国一斉情報伝達試験の実施」. https://web.pref.hyogo.lg.jp/kk42/20260227.html ↩ ↩²

37. 神戸市. 記者資料提供 (2026-06-24), Jアラート全国一斉情報伝達試験. https://www.city.kobe.lg.jp/a95474/900554504523.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

38. NTTドコモ. 報道発表 (2016-09-01), エリアメールの災害・避難情報の翻訳機能追加. https://www.docomo.ne.jp/info/news_release/2016/09/01_01.html ↩

39. 中央区 (Tokyo). 「全国瞬時警報システム（Jアラート）」. https://www.city.chuo.lg.jp/a0010/bousaianzen/kikikanri/kokuminhogo/j-alert.html ↩

40. 川崎市防災ポータルサイト. 「避難生活編：07 災害時の情報の入手方法」. https://portal.kikikanri.city.kawasaki.jp/static/sonaeru/hinanjo/07.html ↩ ↩²

41. 気象庁. 「緊急地震速報・津波警報の多言語辞書」 page. https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/kishou/know/jishin/tagengo/tagengo.html ↩

42. 観光庁 (Japan Tourism Agency). 訪日外国人旅行者の安全確保 「ツール」 page (Safety tips, Japan Visitor Hotline). https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/seisaku_seido/kihonkeikaku/jizoku_kankochi/anzenkakuho/inbound/tool.html ↩ ↩²

43. 総務省 (消防庁). 報道資料 「Jアラートにより配信する国民保護情報の多言語配信の開始」, 平成30年3月. https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01shoubo01_02000031.html ↩

44. ContentAsia. "NHK doubles emergency alerts capability: new 11-language service follows record engagement", 2025-04-24. https://www.contentasia.tv/news/nhk-doubles-emergency-alerts-capability-new-11-language-service-follows-record-engagement ↩

45. Gehirn Inc. NERV Disaster Prevention app site (English). https://nerv.app/en/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

46. 消防庁. 「全国一斉情報伝達試験について」. https://www.fdma.go.jp/about/organization/post-17.html ↩

47. 千葉県 防災危機管理部. 報道発表 「令和8年度 Jアラート全国一斉情報伝達試験」. https://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/bousaik/press/2026/r8-jalert1.html ↩ ↩²

48. 三重県. Jアラート全国一斉情報伝達試験の延期について (令和8年6月2日). https://www.pref.mie.lg.jp/TOPICS/m0022300074.htm ↩

49. 仙台市. 「全国瞬時警報システム(Jアラート)の全国一斉情報伝達試験(第2回)を実施します」. https://www.city.sendai.jp/kikikanri/kurashi/anzen/kanri/hogo/kokumin/260826jalert-shiken.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

50. 中央区 (Tokyo). Jアラート試験放送 page. https://www.city.chuo.lg.jp/a0010/bousaianzen/kikikanri/kokuminhogo/j-alert_test.html ↩ ↩²

51. 山梨県. 「大雨時の避難勧告が廃止され、5月20日から『避難指示』に一本化されました」. https://www.pref.yamanashi.jp/bousai/hinanflowpoint.html ↩