- How many earthquake injuries are caused by toppling or falling furniture
- Types of fixings, and combinations that need no drilling
- How to arrange furniture in bedrooms, children's rooms and near doorways
- The four types of seismic circuit breaker and what to watch for
- How to find local subsidies
The short answer
The quickest way to reduce earthquake injuries is to clear furniture that could topple away from where you sleep and from doorways. Then fix tall furniture to the wall, for example with screwed L-shaped brackets. In rooms where you cannot drill, combine a tension pole with a stopper (or an adhesive mat).
For fires after the shaking, a seismic circuit breaker, which cuts the power when it senses shaking, can help. Some local governments subsidise the cost of the device.
How often furniture causes injuries
According to Tokyo Fire Department materials (data as of 9 March 2023), about 30-50% of people injured in recent earthquakes were hurt by furniture that toppled, fell or slid. By earthquake, the share was 44.6% in the Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake (2008), and in the Kumamoto earthquakes (2016) 29.2% in ordinary houses and 40.0% in high-rise apartments.
In a survey of Tokyo carried out by the Tokyo Fire Department after the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011), furniture toppled, fell or slid in 16.8% of homes on the first and second floors and in 47.2% on the 11th floor or above. On high floors, furniture on castors can also slide across the room.
Meanwhile, in the Cabinet Office's public opinion survey on disaster prevention (December 2022), 35.9% of people said they had fixed their furniture and appliances (FDMA newsletter, January 2024).
Fixing methods and combinations
The Tokyo Fire Department says fixings secured with screws are the most effective.
| Fixing | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| L-shaped bracket | Screws the furniture to the wall | Owned homes; walls with studs or battens |
| Tension pole | Braces between the top of the furniture and the ceiling | Rooms where you cannot drill; best used in combination |
| Stopper / adhesive mat | Placed under the front or base so the furniture tips less easily | Combined with a tension pole |
| Belt | Ties appliances or furniture to the wall or stand | Fridges, microwaves and similar |
Where you cannot drill, as in many rented homes, combining two or more fixings, such as a tension pole with a stopper (or adhesive mat), is said to be about as effective as an L-shaped bracket. For appliances, fix both the TV and its stand, both the microwave and its stand, and use the fridge's leg locks and a belt at the top. Fit cupboard doors with latches and glass with anti-shatter film.
Bedrooms, children's rooms and doorways
The Tokyo Fire Department sets out an order of steps: store things in one place, rethink the layout, prevent toppling and falling, then prevent sliding. It says gathering furniture into a storeroom or closet, so that living rooms have less of it, is the most effective step.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency advises keeping tall furniture out of bedrooms, children's and older people's rooms, and away from doorways where possible. Sleep at least the furniture's height away from it, or out of its path. If something must stand near a doorway, leave room to get past even if it falls. Keep heavy appliances low. In a child's room, choose low shelves and put heavy books on the bottom shelf.
Checklist
- Could any tall furniture fall onto the spot where you sleep?
- Is there furniture that would block the way from the bedroom to the front door if it fell?
- Are the TV and the microwave fixed together with their stands?
Room safety, step by step
- Store things in one room
- Nothing tall where you sleep
→ Most effective
- Sleep a furniture-height away
- Keep doorways clear
- Heavy items down low
- Screw in L-brackets
- No drilling: pole + stopper
- Fix the TV with its stand
→ Combine two or more
- Fit a seismic breaker
- Keep a night light or torch
- Switch off when you leave
→ Prevent restart fires
Seismic circuit breakers and power-restoration fires
After an earthquake, fires can start when flammable items touch a toppled electric heater, or when current runs through a damaged cord. Fires that start when power returns after an outage are called power-restoration fires. FDMA materials show that 85 of the 139 earthquake fires in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (1995), about 60%, and 58 of the 108 in the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011), just over 50%, were caused by electricity.
| Type | How it works | Rough price | Electrical work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distribution board (built-in) | A sensor in the board trips the breaker | About ¥50,000-80,000 | Needed |
| Distribution board (add-on) | Adds a seismic function to a board with an earth-leakage breaker | About ¥20,000 | Needed |
| Socket type | Cuts power at each socket | About ¥5,000-20,000 | Depends on model |
| Simple type | A falling weight or spring trips the breaker | About ¥3,000-4,000 | Not needed |
Prices are the general guide in the FDMA materials. Distribution board types usually wait about three minutes after sensing shaking before cutting the power, so the lights stay on for that time. Simple types cut all power at once, so keep a night light that turns on in a blackout, or a torch. Households using medical equipment at home also need a battery. Whatever the type, switch off the breaker when you evacuate, and before restoring power, check for gas leaks and damaged appliances.
Finding a subsidy
Some local governments subsidise buying or installing seismic breakers.
For example, Yokohama accepts applications for fiscal 2026 from 1 June 2026 to 31 January 2027, closing early if the budget runs out. It covers the full device cost in priority areas and part of it elsewhere. Whether a subsidy exists, and who qualifies, varies by municipality, so search your city or ward's website for "感震ブレーカー 補助" or "家具転倒防止 補助".
One thing to check today
Open your home's distribution board and check whether it shows a seismic function; if not, look up whether your municipality offers a subsidy.