[HEAVENJapan Co., Ltd.] 48% say they don’t always have an emergency bag, and 35% say they don’t keep underwear in their emergency bag. One person said, “I hadn’t thought of putting underwear in my emergency bag.” The issue of the need for underwear in preparation for disasters has come to light.
HEAVENJapan Co., Ltd. Press release: September 26, 2024 48% said they did not always have an emergency bag, and 35% said they did not keep underwear in their emergency bag. One person said, “I hadn’t thought of putting underwear in my emergency bag.” The issue of the need for underwear in preparation for disasters has come to light. Continuing from 2021, we conducted a survey on “disaster prevention and underwear.” While there are some stories of people feeling the need for underwear and sanitary products while living in evacuation centers, it has become clear that there are still very few people who have emergency bags and underwear prepared. HEAVEN Japan Co., Ltd. (location: Kawachinagano City, Osaka
Prefecture, CEO: Takashi Matsuda) conducted an online survey of 934 women regarding “disaster prevention and underwear.” Compared to a survey conducted with the same content in 2021, it became clear that awareness about preparing emergency bags and underwear is still low. 48% of respondents said they did not keep an emergency bag on hand, and 35% said they did not keep underwear in their emergency bag. Although the number of responses increased significantly, What is the percentage of people always keeping emergency bags and underwear? , the results are almost the same as the 2021 survey. When asked about preparing a disaster prevention bag, 48% of respondents said they “do not always have a disaster prevention bag,” and 35% of respondents said they “always keep a disaster prevention bag, but do not carry underwear.” This is the result. In a 2021 survey, 48% of people said they “do not always have an emergency bag,” and 37.1% said they “always keep an emergency bag, but do not include underwear.” Although the number of survey responses increased by more than 2.5 times from 361 in 2021 to 934 in 2024, the percentage of people who always keep emergency bags and underwear has remained almost the same.
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underwear,” and “I’m glad this survey made me aware.” It turns out that even people who keep an emergency preparedness bag with them are not conscious enough to prepare their underwear. Furthermore, although they understand the necessity of emergency preparedness bags and underwear, they say, “I feel like I have to put them in there, but I keep putting them off,” “It’s a waste to have underwear that I can use when I don’t know when I’ll use them,” and “It’s a high priority.” One person said, “If you prepare everything, there will be no space for underwear.” It has become clear that emergency underwear needs to be compact and not feel like a waste even if you don’t use it in an emergency.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/32203/293/32203-293-e7e7d3075e4fe3eeaa9cb5061a2d2da3-1200×1000.png In addition to food and drinking water, some people cited “underwear and hygiene products” as items that were helpful during their time in the evacuation center. Measures against privacy and sexual damage are required. When asked, “Please tell me what you have in your disaster prevention bag, what you have stockpiled in case of a disaster, or any items that were useful during an evacuation.” Some people mentioned sanitary products such as sanitary napkins. “I was conscious about stocking up on drinks and food, but when I went to the evacuation center, I felt I needed to prepare more for hygiene than food.” “I made sure to stock up on sanitary products and non-alcoholic wet wipes. I’m glad I stayed.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/32203/293/32203-293-772406d07eb9dcd08a629c4e343b8be0-1200×1400.png While food and drinks are often readily available through relief supplies and soup kitchens, it is not uncommon for clothing and hygiene-related items to be left on the back burner. Especially from a women’s perspective, there are great concerns about privacy and sexual harassment at evacuation centers. According to a survey by the NPO “Great East Japan Earthquake Women’s Support Network”, it has been found that sexual harassment, such as coerced sexual acts and sexual harassment, occurred in evacuation shelters in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. There were also testimonials such as, “There are limited places to dry underwear, so it’s best to use something that you can’t tell at first glance,” and “It’s difficult for people to see when doing laundry, so disposable underwear was convenient.” This shows that it is not only necessary to prepare underwear in case of a disaster, but also to choose underwear with consideration for living in an evacuation center.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/32203/293/32203-293-2dd3ca6584040c59a222398a29aaf85f-1200×1800.png Survey summary The results of this survey revealed that many people are still not aware of preparing emergency bags and underwear. Additionally, even if they were aware of it, there were opinions such as “I end up putting it off until later” and “It’s a waste to keep underwear in it when you don’t know when you’ll use it.” Many people may still remember that on August 8, 2024, a tremor with a seismic intensity of lower 6 was observed in Miyazaki Prefecture, and then the Nankai Trough earthquake emergency information was announced. In addition, it is no exaggeration to say that Japan is a disaster-prone country, as it is frequently prone to typhoons, heavy rain, and landslides. Along with raising awareness about disaster prevention, there is a need to increase interest in underwear. HEAVEN Japan Co., Ltd. will continue to disseminate information about disaster prevention and underwear through SNS and other means, and hope to contribute to the safety and security of women in times of emergency. Survey target: 934 women Survey period: September 1st to September 5th, 2024 Survey/aggregation method: Internet (company email magazine/SNS) Number of valid answers: 934 A women’s underwear brand that develops and sells “appropriate underwear (R)” that fits each woman’s mind and body. With the motto “We want to eliminate women who worry or give up on underwear and their bodies,” we provide all kinds of information and trivia about underwear. After one of our staff members encountered an earthquake while traveling, we have been distributing information on “disaster prevention and underwear” since January 2022 in honor of “Disaster Prevention Day” on September 1st. Click here for information on why we started
disseminating information on “disaster prevention and underwear”:
https://shop.heaven-jp.co.jp/blogs/contents/bousaisitagi?srsltid=AfmBOop_gaj854KB3P7xhn9pCk4IT2CS3VovNMoYJM0AgD86v9myj81j HEAVEN Japan Co., Ltd. (corporate site) https://heaven-jp.co.jp/ HEAVEN Japan Co., Ltd. (Column on disaster prevention and underwear) https://shop.heaven-jp.co.jp/pages/bousai Survey report on the Great East Japan Earthquake “Violence against women and children during disasters and recovery” | Great East Japan Earthquake Women’s Support
Network http://risetogetherjp.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/bouryokuchosa4.pdf