Monday, February 07, 2011

Only in Japan: Wacky Safety Drills

A group of school children doing a disaster drill (photo: BOUSAIYA 防災屋)
Living in Japan I have seen many interesting, albeit strange things.  I have seen many police officers, firefighters, various public servants, and of course schools performing various safety drills.  The funny thing is that these drills are often performed in public view (maybe to show the public they are working hard?).  The other thing is that they are done with such seriousness, while requiring sometimes interesting disguises or equipment, such as the bousaizukin, or disaster prevention hat.  This hat is flame retardant and has pads to protect the wearer from falling objects.

I came across a great video to illustrate my point, the other day.  It is of a zoo safety drill.  A rhino has escaped and this is how you are supposed to handle it.  PS- Note the number of legs the rhino has LOL




Japanese are known as a people who highly value safety.  In general, they are a reserved culture and are always seeking to minimize risk both in government and private matters.  Having experienced many disasters historically and being one of the most active places for earthquakes on the planet,  I guess it is SAFE to say that nobody knows "safety and prevention" like the Japanese.

7 comments:

  1. Bizarre. In elementary school we were taught to hide under our desks in case of a nuclear attack. This drill was considered very serious, and we did it on a weekly basis.

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  2. Interesting news.Japan safety systems are also used in some parts of the world so it is SAFE to say that.
    Interesting friend

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  3. Rhino drill! I love it. :-))

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  4. I so agree! I was there for a few years and I remember my apartment building being so serious with tremor safety drills..:)
    This however, was an interesting info..
    @nothingprofound: Nuclear drill! That's interesting..:) Where do you stay?

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  5. Wow! This is cool..Nice! :)

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  6. very interesting! i still remember my japaness schoolmate back in my graduate school in georgia. when i was about to go to new york for the first time, he told me repeatedly how dangerous the city was, reminded me never go out street alone after dark. i had not idea how dangerous new york was at the time, and of course i got my own idea after my visit and living there for months.

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  7. For example, at typical temperature, the bulb gets a shade of orange or red. מערכות גילוי אש אשדוד

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