Safety tips, an app for international visitors that provides disaster information, has been greatly improved!

Last Update : 2017/3/17

The Safety tips app*, which provides disaster info to international visitors, was launched in October 2014. The app has been greatly improved based on lessons from recent large-scale earthquakes, including the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, so that international visitors can travel around Japan more safely.

Safety tips, an app for international visitors that provides disaster information, has been greatly improved!

*This app provides disaster information to international visitors. The Japan Tourism Agency launched the app in October 2014 with the aim of achieving an environment in which international visitors can travel around Japan with a feeling of greater security. It is available in five languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese. It provides push notifications of Earthquake Early Warnings, Tsunami Warnings, Weather Warnings and Eruption Notices. In addition, there is an evacuation flowchart that shows what evacuation behaviors are required for the given conditions, a communication card that can be used to obtain information from Japanese people, and useful links that provide information in times of disaster.

1. Improvements in functionality (the new version debuted on March 13, 2017)

(1) New information
・Hospitals/clinics that can treat international visitors (information provided by the Japan National Tourism Organization)
・Heatstroke information
・Learning materials (explanations of each type of disaster and of first aid)
・Disaster evacuation sites (different app)
・Weather forecasts
・Emergency contact information (the 110 and 119 emergency numbers), and one-touch dialing for the embassy of your registered nationality
・Transportation

(2) Improved functions
・The language can be selected (the previous version automatically displayed the language that was selected for the mobile terminal)
・Earthquake seismic intensities at locations near the epicenter
・Easy-to-understand displays of disaster sites and the user’s location
・Improved navigation flowcharts
・More links

The overall appearance has been changed to simple color tones. The large number of illustrations help users view the information easily.

(Attached documents: new functionality for Safety tips, an app that provides push notifications)［PDF：645KB］

[References] Evaluation of the app

　About 60 foreigners, including about 15 speakers each of English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean, were recruited for group interviews according to language. The members were chosen so as to have a wide range of people with diverse disaster experience in Japan: some of them have been in Japan for a relatively short period of time, so their opinions are expected to be similar to those of international tourists, and some of them have received Earthquake Early Warnings in advance of actual earthquakes.
　 Three group interviews for each language (3 groups x 4 languages = 12 group interviews) were held in May 2016 to solicit feedback from users of the app in each foreign language.
　The interviews identified the items that are most in need of improvement.

2. Other (promotions and publicity)

Safety tips can be used with other multi-lingual apps and websites that have been developed for inbound tourism promotion. Posters and handouts have been created to promote the Safety Tips app and notify potential users about it. Please contact the Japan Tourism Agency for links or to propose collaboration.

[Reference] Basic information on Safety tips, an app that provides disaster information to international visitors

□ Basic functions
　Push notifications* regarding Earthquake Early Warnings, Tsunami Warnings, Weather Warnings and Eruption Notices are provided by the Japan Meteorological Agency
　*notifications that are automatically sent to the mobile terminals of registered users
□ Languages
　English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese
□ OS
　・Android 5.0 or later version
　・iOS9.0 or later version
□ Download URL
　・Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.rcsc.safetyTips.android
　・iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/safety-tips/id858357174?mt=8
Use the following QR codes to reach the download sites.
If you have already downloaded the Safety tips app, an update is necessary.

QR code(For Android)

　For Android　　　　　　　　　　For iPhone

We will promote and publicize the updated version so that more and more international visitors will know about it and use it, in addition to our ongoing promotion of the previous version at airports, tourism information offices and other sites where many international visitors may visit.

Yamazaki (ext.: 27207) or Watanabe (ext.: 27905)
Dirctor for Receiving Foreign Tourists, Japan Tourism Agency
Main phone number: 03-5253-8111 (ext. 27207 or 27905), or direct phone number: 03-5253-8972
Fax: 03-5253-1563

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