Oct 24, 2026 in Aizubange, Fukushima — 19 drills planned nationwide in FY2026
On September 18, 2026, Japan's Cabinet Secretariat and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA) announced that Fukushima Prefecture and the town of Aizubange will jointly hold a resident evacuation drill with the national government based on a ballistic-missile scenario. The drill runs on Saturday, October 24, 2026, from about 11:00 to 11:45, at Bange Higashi Elementary School and the Furubange underground walkway — both designated as emergency temporary evacuation facilities. The scenario is that a ballistic missile has been launched from "Country X" and may reach Japan. Two main activities are planned: first, a simulated J-Alert audio message broadcast over the school's PA system to convey information to residents; second, participants who are outdoors will take shelter indoors in the school gymnasium or the underground walkway, or take other evacuation actions suited to the situation. The organizers are the Cabinet Secretariat, the FDMA, Fukushima Prefecture and Aizubange. Media arrangements will be announced separately by Fukushima Prefecture. The same release also confirmed that 19 such drills are planned nationwide in FY2026: Sai Village (Aomori) on June 16, Saku (Nagano) Aug 26, Hitoyoshi (Kumamoto) Sep 27, Kumakogen (Ehime) Oct 10, Tokamachi (Niigata) Oct 15, Ebino (Miyazaki) Oct 20, Aizubange and Hakui (Ishikawa) Oct 24, Izumi (Osaka) Nov 1, Yonezawa (Yamagata) and Kurobe (Toyama) Nov 10, Uto (Kumamoto) Nov 29, Shintomi (Miyazaki) Dec 12, then in 2027 Hiroshima Prefecture (municipality TBD) Jan 24, Yotsukaido (Chiba) Jan 25, Yaita (Tochigi) Jan 26, Akita Prefecture (TBD) Jan 30, Omura (Nagasaki) Feb 14 and Hodatsushimizu (Ishikawa) Feb 19.
On the day of the drill, a simulated J-Alert message will be broadcast over the PA system at Bange Higashi Elementary School in Aizubange. It is only a drill, so there is no need to panic if you hear it. In a real emergency, however, the J-Alert message is delivered in Japanese, and not understanding it can leave you frozen. This drill is a chance to physically practice the actions involved: moving indoors, and entering a sturdy building or an underground space nearby. Similar drills are planned in 19 locations nationwide in FY2026. If your city or town is on the list, it is worth contacting the local government to ask whether you can take part — you do not need perfect Japanese to benefit from it. Note also that both venues are designated "emergency temporary evacuation facilities." Facilities of the same type exist across Japan, so checking which places near your home are designated — before anything happens — makes it far easier to act without hesitation when a real alert sounds.
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Source:
Fire and Disaster Management Agency website (Resident evacuation drill based on a ballistic missile scenario)This article was edited and written by freegent Inc. based on the source above.