"Disaster Alert App" delivers alerts to our users’ smartphones in advance whenever a natural disaster is about to strike. There are three key features to this app; speed, personalization, and the 8-pack disaster alerts・

First, users can receive alerts faster than a disaster actually reaches them. For example, if an earthquake takes place 50 km off shore the alert will be delivered 5 seconds before it reaches the inland users. For a volcanic eruption, users will be alerted three days in advance; for hurricanes, four hours in advance, and for tsunamis, thirty minutes in advance. This technology is possible due to our partnership with Japanese Meteorological Agency.

Second, the app is carefully designed so that users only receive relevant and vital information. Once installed, the GPS automatically detects the user's location down to their district. Users can then personalize the app by setting other locations such as their home and office. This enables us to send alerts which affect the locations important to our users. Users can also set the relevant threat level and frequency for receiving alerts so they are only notified of a threat if the situation becomes more serious. For example, users will not receive a heavy rain warning if precipitation level subsequently falls.

Third, it’s the world's first app to have information and alerts for eight different types of disasters: earthquakes, heavy rain, tsunamis, weather warnings, volcanic eruptions, radiation, electricity consumption, and scheduled blackouts.

These features make the app more effective than any other disaster alerts and help prevent loss of thousands of lives.

In a year since its release, our app has ranked 1st in its AppStore category. With coverage on more than 30 media outlets, it has created a huge buzz on Twitter and the blogosphere. During a disaster drill in central Tokyo, it was instrumental in achieving an evacuation rate of 100%.

But our goal isn’t simply to gain media attention. Our real goal is to help prevent future disasters, and what really matters to us is the number of lives we can help save. Experts estimate that the death toll could reach 320,000 if a major tsunami hits the densely populated areas of Japan. Our app has been downloaded 1.3 million times so far. This means we are watching out for 1.3 million lives.

Our next KAIZENs are improving users’ attention and adding more alerts. The new feature will be a voice alert which will make the app more effective in directing the user's attention even when their phones are in their bags/pockets. We also plan to include evacuation information and alerts for national and local security issues such as military or terrorist attacks. We will continue our effort to create innovative disaster-alert solutions to save future lives.