First Look Inside Private Nuclear Shelter as Japan’s Wealthy Focus on Emergency Preparedness

This is the first time in Japan that a nuclear shelter installed in a private home is open to the public

“It’s cool, isn’t it? Is there an air conditioner down here?”

On July 8, Osaka recorded a high of 36.4°C, but descending the stairs led to a coolness reminiscent of a highland breeze.

“No, it’s the natural coolness of being underground. In the event of an emergency, air conditioning might not be usable, but an underground space can maintain a comfortable and stable temperature even without electricity. Right now, the door is open, but it’ll get even cooler when it’s closed. Some shelters currently on the market are above ground, but I don’t think you could stand being inside one of those in this heat.”

So says Kazumi Yoshiyama, President of Anchor Housing Co., Ltd., which manufactured the nuclear shelter. That day, a viewing event for the shelter was being held in a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Osaka Prefecture.

In fact, the penetration rate of nuclear shelters in Japan is said to be only 0.02%, but the actual situation is unclear. That’s because there are no officially maintained nuclear shelters as public evacuation facilities; only a few secretly built by wealthy individuals exist. Naturally, shelter owners don’t want to make it known that they have one at home, since people might rush to it in an emergency. For that reason, although model shelters have been shown before, this is the first time in Japan that a nuclear shelter installed in a private home has been made public.

“The owner who installed this nuclear shelter originally had a residence on the adjacent property. When the neighboring land became vacant, they bought it thinking their grandchildren might build a house there in the future. But in the meantime, they thought it would be a waste to leave the land unused, and with the recent situations in Israel and Ukraine, they decided to install a nuclear shelter,” said Mr. Yoshiyama.

That said, the shelter was buried in a corner of the property, leaving enough space to build an entire house. They even built a putting green for golf there—an enviable story indeed. The owner’s wife was also pleased with the shelter, saying, “The ceiling is high, so even if something happens, we’ll be able to stay here without much stress.”

Updated habitability from before

Anchor Housing’s nuclear shelters are manufactured domestically according to standards used at U.S. military bases. Opening the rectangular iron door in the ground behind the parking space reveals stairs leading underground. As you descend the stairs, flanked by stone walls, you reach a dead end, then turn a corner to the left, where another heavy iron door of the shelter appears.

Opening the door reveals the interior of the 12.5-square-meter shelter. Directly ahead is a small kitchen and toilet; to the right, a bunk bed; and to the left, a small space that serves as a living area. Under the bench is a storage compartment for emergency supplies.

The basic structure is the same as that of model rooms previously covered in reports, but various details have been upgraded. For example, the toilet space is more defined relative to the overall area, and the interior walls are finished with mosaic-style stone, giving a significantly improved impression of livability. Of course, in the event of an emergency, the shelter can completely block radiation, blast waves, and heat, so it is considered safe even if the blast center is just 100 to 200 meters away.

“This time, a representative from a major department store’s exclusive sales division also came. They had previously visited our model room in Yokohama and said, ‘This is a clear step up from what I saw before. I’d definitely like to recommend it to my clients,'” said Yoshiyama.

The escalating tensions in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are not distant concerns. In Japan, too, fears surrounding North Korean missiles and a potential Taiwan crisis are causing an increase in interest in nuclear shelters among the wealthy. “Recently, there’s also growing demand for these shelters as panic rooms in response to the surge in organized robbery crimes,” Yoshiyama added.

As mentioned earlier, while disaster preparedness in Japan has advanced, preparation for missile or nuclear attacks remains virtually nonexistent. In June this year, the government finally included plans for evacuation facilities in case of missile attacks in its Basic Policy and aims to finalize implementation plans by fiscal 2025. On Ishigaki Island, designs have begun for a shelter that could house 500 people for two weeks, but the completion date is still unknown.

While some disaster readiness exists, when it comes to nuclear or missile preparedness, responsibility still falls entirely on individuals.