Demand for Fallout Shelters and Air Filters Surges in Japan as War With North Korea Looms

For now, North Korea can’t really hurt America. Though they could certainly hurt some of our troops overseas, the average American doesn’t really have to worry about the hermit kingdom unless they develop long-range ICBMs. We should probably worry a lot more about starting a war with them, not the other way around. That could easily spiral into a global conflagration, which would definitely threaten civilians stateside.

It’s a different story for the Japanese however. For them, the danger is much more immediate. It could be many years before North Korea is capable of striking American soil, but they are probably already capable of striking Japan. If not with nuclear weapons, then certainly with chemical weapons. So as tensions mount in the Korean Peninsula, and the North continues to test missiles, the Japanese are getting prepared. According to Reuters, companies that sell nuclear shelters and air purifiers are experiencing record sales.

A small company that specializes in building nuclear shelters, generally under people’s houses, has received eight orders in April alone compared with six orders during a typical year.

The company, Oribe Seiki Seisakusho, based in Kobe, western Japan, also has sold out of 50 Swiss-made air purifiers, which are said to keep out radiation and poisonous gas, and is trying to get more, said Nobuko Oribe, the company’s director.

A purifier designed for six people sells for 620,000 yen ($5,630) and one designed for 13 people and usually installed in a family-use shelter costs 1.7 million yen ($15,440).

Another company that builds underground shelters claims that in February they started to notice a lot more inquiries and quotes for their work. Since then, the number of information requests has increased ten-fold. And it’s not just private citizens who are concerned. The Japanese government has also started telling local communities to hold evacuation drills in case of an attack.