Disaster-focused pictograms bringing clarity during crises in Japan

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A regional fire department in western Japan has collaborated with a university to create easy-to-understand pictograms they hope will keep people safe during disasters or even terrorist attacks.

Okayama Fire Department and Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, want to see their pictograms used nationwide to assist hard of hearing people and others, such as non-Japanese, who might have trouble interpreting spoken instructions from rescue workers wearing protective gear.

Although pictograms are ubiquitous in Japanese cities, marking out emergency exits, public restrooms and other important locations, the members of this project say designs made explicitly for the aftermath of disasters are rare.

So far, the diagrams, one featuring a stick figure gesturing with the words “walk here” to guide people in an evacuation, have been installed at more than 300 locations by fire departments, hospitals and commercial facilities in 29 prefectures.

Four triage tags, used to manage victims in a disaster, were designed to request contaminated garments from nuclear, biological or chemical terrorist attacks be discarded, and clothing changed, including ones with the phrases “put clothes in a bag” and “wear a poncho.”

Although they are, thankfully, rarely called upon, these pictograms can be used on large displays that stand out prominently to guide crowds to safety, the creators say.

The project began in the summer of 2016 after a proposal from firefighters who were looking for ways to speed up evacuations. Having been tasked with coming up with proposals, students in the medical welfare design department at the university worked out detailed drafts after gathering feedback from foreign residents and others.

It took about two years for them to complete four examples after conducting surveys of citizens and repeated inspections for evacuation training.

Creating pictograms that were eye-catching was most important, they said. The pictograms were initially only blue, but they decided to use yellow, a color highly effective for conveying a sense of crisis or urgency, in images requesting garments be changed. Designs were also simplified with the use of thick lettering.

Toshiki Watanabe, 39, team leader of the special rescue division at the city’s fire department who proposed the idea, said, “The pictograms are simple but at the same time refined, and we have been able to smoothly guide many people during actual fires using them. They’ve gotten a welcome reception at facilities for the disabled.”

The pictograms were commended by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2017 for their ability to be easily understood by children and others, such as foreigners who might not speak Japanese.

As of the end of March, the pictograms had been introduced at fire departments, companies and around 190 public schools, kindergartens, and nurseries in Okayama Prefecture. They were also prepared in case of emergency at the G-20 Health Ministers’ Meeting held in Okayama and at a Rugby World Cup venue in 2019.

Many locations outside Okayama Prefecture, including those operated by fire departments, the Self-Defense Forces, and various welfare organizations, have started using them.

Shunsuke Nakamura, a professor at Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare and the project leader, explained that the pictograms have been effective during the coronavirus pandemic, too, since people find it challenging to understand in situations where workers wear masks that cover their mouths and muffle their voices.

“As the designs become more widespread I’m sure they’ll be refined further. First of all, we will aim to have uniform pictograms throughout the country, and eventually make them a world standard.”

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