<figure id="attachment_431994" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1446px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-431994"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1037da67"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/07/2d0902c9f73bc37f9697435a395c3072.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-431994" class="wp-caption-text">When you open the steel door attached to the ground, there is a staircase leading to the basement. </figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> This is the first time in Japan that a nuclear shelter installed in a private home is open to the public</span></h3>
<p data-start="0" data-end="61"><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s cool, isn&#8217;t it? Is there an air conditioner down here?&#8221;</strong></p>
<p data-start="63" data-end="184">On July 8, Osaka recorded a high of 36.4°C, but descending the stairs led to a coolness reminiscent of a highland breeze.</p>
<p data-start="186" data-end="611"><strong>&#8220;No, it&#8217;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&#8217;ll get even cooler when it&#8217;s closed. Some shelters currently on the market are above ground, but I don&#8217;t think you could stand being inside one of those in this heat.&#8221;</strong></p>
<p data-start="613" data-end="842">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.</p>
<p data-start="844" data-end="1420">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.</p>
<p data-start="1422" data-end="1844"><strong>&#8220;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,&#8221;</strong> said Mr. Yoshiyama.</p>
<p data-start="1846" data-end="2189" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">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&#8217;s wife was also pleased with the shelter, saying, <strong>&#8220;The ceiling is high, so even if something happens, we’ll be able to stay here without much stress.&#8221;</strong></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Inside the shelter"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">Updated habitability from before</span></h3>
<p data-start="0" data-end="383">Anchor Housing&#8217;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.</p>
<p data-start="385" data-end="654">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.</p>
<p data-start="656" data-end="1166">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.</p>
<p data-start="1168" data-end="1447">&#8220;This time, a representative from a major department store&#8217;s exclusive sales division also came. They had previously visited our model room in Yokohama and said, &#8216;This is a clear step up from what I saw before. I&#8217;d definitely like to recommend it to my clients,'&#8221; said Yoshiyama.</p>
<p data-start="1449" data-end="1855">The escalating tensions in the Middle East and Russia&#8217;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. &#8220;Recently, there’s also growing demand for these shelters as panic rooms in response to the surge in organized robbery crimes,&#8221; Yoshiyama added.</p>
<p data-start="1857" data-end="2329">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.</p>
<p data-start="2331" data-end="2470" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">While some disaster readiness exists, when it comes to nuclear or missile preparedness, responsibility still falls entirely on individuals.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Interior shot of a nuclear shelter installed in a private home."></div>
<figure id="attachment_432339" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1430px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-432339"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="04bf380e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/07/797f8318bf5b481dda3b5fa724df13a0.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-432339" class="wp-caption-text">View of the site from the front: the parking space is located to the left in the foreground, and just beyond it is the entrance to the shelter.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_431996" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1108px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-431996"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="53c084cf"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/07/2a12f64103cabdefb2f80fba99d68ebc.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-431996" class="wp-caption-text">When you go down the stairs, there is a steel door on the left at the end of the stairs, which opens to reveal the interior of the shelter.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_431998" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1920px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-431998"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8468db30"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/07/534fa70aca89654cdfb71980da56950a.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-431998" class="wp-caption-text">The door opens to the inside of the shelter. The kitchen and toilet doors are in front, and the bed is on the right.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_432100" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1302px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-432100"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ef3b66d0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/07/2eb2044a3c48626c227ffe0091ea9029.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-432100" class="wp-caption-text">Bunk beds are on the right side of the door.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_432001" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1750px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-432001"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="77028c68"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/07/ba71a997052d88f5c43a7a8011ecd040.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-432001" class="wp-caption-text">The kitchen: regular tap water can be used under normal circumstances, but bottled water is used in emergencies.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_432002" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1551px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-432002"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6d719283"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/07/5fd5c8c6bd557bed04c2bf5e8502e6ab.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-432002" class="wp-caption-text">The toilet: although compact, it is designed to provide sufficient privacy. It is a waterless bio-toilet.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_432003" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1446px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-432003"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="dba34928"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/07/cedc5af0c51b89bca19cccddedc2f49a.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-432003" class="wp-caption-text">To the left of the door is the living space. The bench can be used as a bed, and there is a storage space inside. The wall is stylish.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_432101" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 769px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-432101"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a45354c6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/07/9c2b63cf753c5f4cc2d02df4802537d6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-432101" class="wp-caption-text">Air purifier (mosaic area): operates on electricity but can also be used manually. Power is supplied by solar panels or a storage battery, enough to run a PC, but air conditioning cannot be used.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_432005" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1125px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-432005"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2bd8851c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/07/42a4542e546877363829a18d1190b18f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-432005" class="wp-caption-text">Scene of the shelter being buried: the total cost, including construction, starts from around 30 million yen. The installation for this case was carried out by Daikichi Rent-All Co., Ltd. in Osaka.</figcaption></figure>


 Anchor Housing Corporation (https://ancarshelter.jp/)

 Japan has a high level of crisis awareness when it comes to preparing for disasters, but not when it comes to war. However, some wealthy people secretly purchase nuclear shelters. This is the first public viewing of the inside of such a shelter in a private home.

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

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