Japan plans to set up a subsidy for individuals wishing to build an atomic shelter in their garden or their guest room.
Japan’s conservative government will launch a study in April on the feasibility of a plan to support bomb shelters in private homes. Tokyo explains that other countries already have huge networks to protect their populations from enemy attacks, whether conventional bombs or atomic bombs. Taiwan, for example, has over 100,000 sites that are designated as shelters or refuges. The island can house its entire population there in the event of an attack, particularly from China.
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The Japanese government says it, too, is under threat from several nations. The names are not listed in official documents, although the geopolitical context is known: it is China, North Korea, but also now Russia, very close, which is no longer a “friendly country “as before the attack on Ukraine.
Strong demand from the Japanese
And the figures prove it: in Japan, the demand is already there. For now, there is only one Japanese manufacturer of fallout shelters for individuals, an SME called World Net International. Its headquarters are in Tokyo but its workshops are in Yaizu, in a neighboring prefecture.
Its president ensures that its sales are exploding. For many years, he only sold, on average, two or three shelters a year. But in 2022, with the invasion of Ukraine, he received 25 orders from wealthy individuals. They want a fallout shelter for their garden, for their ground floor or for their basement. Because these shelters are customizable: they can be larger or smaller depending on the number of people to be protected in the home.
This small bunker is made up of huge steel walls, up to 3.6 centimeters thick. Inside, there is a single room with mattresses on the floor, sometimes there is also a television set. A system makes it possible to create a little electricity independently. There are also large air filters and above all a positive pressure system. Indeed, it is absolutely necessary that there is more pressure inside the shelter than outside to prevent the entry of hazardous materials. Survival still has a cost. It takes between 60,000 and 90,000 euros for a fallout shelter for two people.