Not just Free WiFi : Case for multilingual disaster warning systems

Drill : Earthquake warning in Japanese from Edogawa Ward

Drill : Earthquake warning in Japanese from Edogawa Ward

The past one year, keeping a track of tourism related news, Japan seems to have suddenly woken up to the fact that foreign tourists cite a lack of free WiFi internet connectivity in Tokyo and other cities.

In Japan, where English is not widely spoken and tourists are looking for self direction, they prioritize connectivity over everything else and this finding is understandable.

There have been some efforts made by organizations to provide 14 day free WiFi to tourists in Japan and the scenario will get better as we progress on to 2020.

A notification which flashed on many mobiles this morning, a drill for earthquakes and fires was pushed out in Japanese ONLY. Information access (connectivity), is one side of the coin, but another equally important point is the language.

A ten second warning before a major earthquake strikes or a particular neighborhood going up in flames if cannot be comprehended or read by a section (although in minority) is still a disaster waiting to happen.

Depending on the context, Free WiFi is a necessity or a nice to have, but earthquakes which strike without any notice, this preparedness is a MUST HAVE and it will be great if Tokyo takes step in that direction. MULTILINGUAL DISASTER WARNING SYSTEMS PLEASE….

UPDATE : 2014/11/24 : 143 Stations in Tokyo to get hassle free WiFi access

WiFi Sign in subway

1 Comments

  1. Pingback: Not just Free WiFi : Case for multilingual disaster warning systems | Tokyo Summer Olympics 2020 News

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