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Demand for Nuclear Shelters Skyrockets in Japan Amid North Korean Threat

© REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon Seiichiro Nishimoto, CEO of Shelter Co., poses wearing a gas mask at a model room for the company's nuclear shelters in the basement of his house in Osaka, Japan April 26, 2017
Seiichiro Nishimoto, CEO of Shelter Co., poses wearing a gas mask at a model room for the company's nuclear shelters in the basement of his house in Osaka, Japan April 26, 2017 - Sputnik International
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The demand for underground nuclear shelters has increased by 26 times in the wake of North Korea's advancements in missile and nuclear programs, Japan's Oribe Seiki Seisakusho shelter company's representative Nobuko Oribe told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — However, she noted that Japan was still far behind other countries as only 0.02 percent of the Japanese citizens had their own underground bomb shelters.

"Compared to 2016, the shelters' sales have increased by 26 times," Oribe said in an interview, adding that it could be explained by nothing else but the Japanese people's fear in the face of the North Korean threat.

"Every shelter is designed to be air-tight, so that the family could safely stay inside for two weeks. As regards food and water, owners of a shelter should stockpile it themselves… Shelters are equipped with Swiss conditioning and air purification system with the filters that protect not only against radiation, but against any toxic gas, including sarin. In particular, a door of shelters, produced by Oribe, can withstand a bomb explosion and would not melt even if heated till 1,200 degrees Celsius [2,192 degrees Fahrenheit]," Oribe said.

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The company's representative added that shelters were designed for three-five people and costed between 16-25 million yen ($145,000-227,000). Besides, she noted that Oribe Seiki Seisakusho also educated its clients about the behavior in case of nuclear catastrophe through Japan Nuclear Shelter Association, established by the company.

The tensions surrounding North Korea have escalated in recent months over Pyongyang's repeated launches of missiles, with all of them falling in the Sea of Japan. In April, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that North Korea could be capable of filling its warheads with sarin nerve agent.

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