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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Japan vending machines to automatically offer free food if earthquake hits

Street vending machines in Tokyo. Japan has launched two new vending machines that unlock in the event of a natural disaster
Street vending machines in Tokyo. Japan has launched two new vending machines that unlock automatically in the event of a natural disaster. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters

Japan has extended its natural disaster preparations to vending machines, which will offer free food and drink in the event of a major earthquake or typhoon.

Two machines have been installed in the western coastal city of Ako, located in a region that seismologists say is vulnerable to a powerful earthquake that is expected to hit the country’s central and south-west pacific coast in the next few decades.

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