A non-profit organization built an exemplary nuclear shelter near Tokyo in an environment “Growing Concern Over Russian Nuclear Threat And North Korea’s Missile Ambitions”The Japan Today reports July 3.
It was made according to the builders, “to raise awareness and encourage people to consider digging their own doomsday bunker”.
Although the underground concrete structure is not yet open to the public, it went on display on May 10 in a parking lot in front of the Japan Nuclear Shelter Association office in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture. Around 40 tours have already been held here for construction professionals, national and local politicians, representatives of government agencies and the media.
The association says it is committed to ensuring that the shelters are built in Japan according to established standards. According to a representative of the association, interest in its activities has increased dramatically in the last year, and in more than a year the number of its members has increased from two companies to about 30.
“We were thinking of building a model shelter even before the Ukraine crisis, but we decided that it was really necessary last spring.”said director Takahiro Kawashima.
The facility was built to specifications in Switzerland, where legislation from the 1960s at the height of the Cold War required shelters to be accessible to all citizens.
According to the association, the structure can withstand an explosion similar to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, as long as it is located a little less than a kilometer or more from the center of the explosion.
He says the underground shelter can accommodate a family of four adults, three children and one pet for a maximum of two weeks. While the total area is about 48 square meters, its living space is about 25.6 square meters.
Amenities include a porta-potty, an air filtration system, and a 200-millimeter-thick blast-proof door. However, its foreign specifications impose limitations, as the association states that Japanese building regulations regarding indoor hot water mean that any shower on the device can only be cold.
The Cabinet of Ministers believes that underground structures are more effective in reducing the effects of aerial explosions than ground ones. But a local government survey conducted by Kyodo News in January and February found that of the 59,132 sites designated as emergency shelters, only 2,390, or about 4%, are underground.
The threat from North Korea also intensified after it launched 37 rockets in 2022, in some cases prompting warnings in parts of Japan advising people to seek shelter.
The situation has led to the creation of a group of deputies from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who are asking the government for financial support for the installation of shelters in the municipalities where the military bases are located. In June, they presented their proposals to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
But it’s not clear how much a system like the one showcased by the association would cost if it became a national standard.
A typical shelter costs a total of about 40 million yen (24.5 million rubles), but the organization says a more standard price would be 20 to 30 million yen (18.5 million rubles) per unit, without cost of the land on which it is built. .
Due to the demand for excursions, no one has had a chance to try to stay at the refuge, Kawashima said. “We’re thinking of asking someone to try to live there for a full 14 days, maybe a YouTuber or something.”added.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.