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The Times of India
The Times of India
World
TOI World Desk

Since the 1960s, every day at exactly 5 p.m., Japan plays the same melody to quietly test its nationwide disaster warning system

Japan Atlas Obscura Earthquakes Japan Meteorological Agency

If you are in Japan around 5 p.m., you may hear music from speakers mounted on posts in towns and cities. But for loal residents, this is just another routine part of the day. But behind the music is one of Japan’s key disaster-preparedness measures. Japan has spent decades building systems to alert the public quickly about disasters. The daily tone is not just a tradition; it is also a routine check of the country’s disaster communication system.

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