Sinanen Holdings Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Masaki Yamazaki, hereinafter "Sinanen Holdings"), a comprehensive energy, housing, and daily-life services provider, would like to announce the results of a "Disaster awareness survey" it conducted on approximately 1,000 men and women aged in their 20s to 60s across Japan. The survey was conducted prior to this year's Disaster Prevention Day, which marks the 100th year since the Great Kanto Earthquake.

■ Topics

・Less than half (44.9%) of people (n=1,028) prepare for a disaster in their daily lives. By age group, it was found that disaster awareness is highest among people in their 20s (53.8%) and 30s (50.5%).

・Products and services (n=462) assumed for use during a disaster were long shelf life foods (66.5%) in 1st place, followed by an emergency evacuation bag and a mobile battery (both at 54.5%).

・When asking people (n=146) who have prepared for a disaster based on their own past experience of a disaster about interruptions to each lifeline, although over 70% of electric, telephone, train and water supply users responded that they had experienced interruption to these services, around half of LP gas users responded that they had not experienced any interruption.

・Among bicycle sharing service members (n=142), 1 in 4 people (28.9%) registered as a member because they expected to use the bicycle service during an emergency such as a disaster, while 1 in 5 people (22.5%) had experience of actually using the bicycle service during such an emergency.

■ Survey overview

・Survey method: Survey conducted on self-service online research service Fastask

・Survey period: July 25 (Tuesday) to August 1 (Tuesday), 2023

・Survey respondents: 1,028 men and women aged between 20 and 69 across Japan

■Less than half of people prepare for a disaster in their daily lives. By age group, it was found that disaster awareness is highest among people in their 20s and 30s.

When asking people whether they have prepared for a disaster in their daily lives, 44.9% responded that they have prepared for a disaster, which showed that over half of people have not prepared for a disaster in their daily lives.

When looking at age groups, over half of people in their 20s and 30s responded that they have prepared for a disaster so this shows that disaster awareness is high among young people.

■People who have prepared for a disaster responded that the top products and services assumed for use during a disaster are long shelf life foods, an emergency evacuation bag and a mobile battery.

Next, when asking people who prepare for a disaster on a regular basis about products and services assumed for use during a disaster, they responded that long shelf life foods (66.5%) are in 1st place, showing a high level of awareness for food crisis management during a disaster. An emergency evacuation bag and a mobile battery were ranked 2nd at the same percentage (54.5%). The survey showed that a great deal of importance is placed on maintaining a power source in our modern world where smartphones and tablet devices are everywhere, in addition to stocking up on emergency supplies.

■When asking people who have prepared for a disaster based on their own past experience of a disaster about interruptions to their lifeline, although over 70% of electric, telephone, train and water supply users responded that they had experienced interruption to these services, around half of LP gas users responded that they had not experienced any interruption.

When asking people who prepare for a disaster on a regular basis because of their own past experience of a disaster about whether a natural disaster had interrupted a lifeline they use, over 70% of electric, telephone, train and water supply users responded that they had experienced interruption to these services. However, around half (46.6%) of LP gas users responded that they had experienced no interruption, showing that this is one of the reasons LP gas is said to be an energy source that is disaster-resistant.

When asking gas users why they chose their current gas contract, both city gas users and LP gas users responded with the top answer of "because I feel secure about the gas contractor's business" and "because they are cheaper" in 2nd place for their reason why they actively chose their current contract. The 3rd place answer from city gas users was "because the gas contractor has a lot of rewards". However, the 3rd place answer for LP gas was "because of the risk of a disaster". Furthermore, LP gas users are very aware that LP gas is said to be faster to recover than city gas when a gas interruption occurs during a disaster, and the fact that LP gas is said to be disaster-resistant is considered to be one of the advantages to its users.

■Among bicycle sharing service members, 1 in 4 people registered as a member because they expected to use the bicycle service during an emergency such as a disaster, while 1 in 5 people had experience of actually using the bicycle service during such an emergency.

When investigating awareness of the bicycle sharing service, which is gaining greater attention as transportation infrastructure during a disaster, it was found that approximately 70% of people know about the bicycle sharing service. However, results showed that approximately 20% of people actually registered as a member from among people who know about the bicycle sharing service.

When asking people who have actually registered as a member of the bicycle sharing service their reason for registering and when they use the service, the top answer was for everyday use such as shopping and going to work or school, and it was found that 1 in 4 people registered as a member because they expected to use the bicycle service during an emergency such as a disaster. Furthermore, 1 in 5 people have actually used the service in an emergency such as a disaster, showing that the bicycle sharing service is highly effective as a means of transportation during a disaster. To bridge the gap between the level of awareness for the service and the number of registered members, it is important to provide information showing that the service is very convenient and can be used in many situations, not just for everyday use.

This survey was able to provide real feedback about the awareness of disasters among general consumers and what type of action they take on a regular basis to prepare for a disaster.

September 1, 2023 marks the 100th year since the Great Kanto Earthquake. This is a good opportunity for everyone to once again consider disaster prevention measures and try to prepare for a disaster in their daily lives. 

As a corporate group engaged in the sale of various energy and bicycle sharing services, the Sinanen Holdings Group will continue to actively provide various information and contribute towards achieving a safe and secure society to increase awareness of disaster prevention among general consumers.

■ Sinanen Holdings Co., Ltd.: https://sinanengroup.co.jp/en/
Sinanen Holdings Co., Ltd. is a holding company of the energy service group founded in 1927. With the mission of the Group to contribute to realizing a comfortable life for all customers in their communities through energy and home & life services, we provide Retail/Wholesale Energy & Related Business for consumers, Energy Solution Business for corporations, and non-energy businesses such as bicycle, bicycle sharing, environmental and recycling, system development, antimicrobial, building management and maintenance, and other services. We are also strengthening efforts to develop new environmentally-friendly businesses and corporate initiatives to achieve a decarbonized society.

[Media inquiries]
Kiryu and Kimura, PR Team, Corporate Planning Dept., Sinanen Holdings Co., Ltd.
Tel: +81-3-6478-7807 Fax: +81-3-6478-7824 E-mail: kouhou@sinanengroup.co.jp