Nuclear security

Bunkering down: sales of nuclear shelters climb in Japan wary of North Korea tests

A brief research trip to Japan’s north-east coast to witness the aftermath of the March 2011 tsunami was all that it took to persuade Yoshihiko Kurotori to build a shelter in his back garden.

His home in suburban Wakayama is just a kilometre from the stretch of Pacific coast that scientists say is likely to be struck by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in the coming decades, causing an estimated 320,000 deaths.

“I saw the foundations of what had once been people’s homes and thought there and then that I needed to protect myself,” Kurotori said. “My neighbours asked me what on earth I was doing when the diggers arrived. They thought I was wasting my money, but you can’t put a price on safety.”