Protect yourself by sheltering under a table. If there is no place to hide, protect your head with a pillow or a cushion.

After the main shock calms down, immediately turn off the gas appliances as well as heating appliances. Anything that could cause a fire should be turned off.

Open the doors to rooms and the entrance of the house. Always wear shoes even when inside a house to avoid injury as there could be pieces of broken glass or other dangerous objects on the floor.

It is possible that small shakes may occur following the main quake. Remember to stay calm even when you feel the aftershocks.

Before you leave the house, make sure you shut off the gas supply valve as well as the circuit breaker. If you are in a building, always use the stairs to evacuate. You should not use elevators.

You should always walk when you evacuate. Never use cars, motorcycles or bicycles. Do not try to take more than you need for emergency survival.

Stay away from gates and concrete block walls if you are in a residential area at the time of an earthquake.

Protect your head with your bag or a similar object from possible falling objects such as broken windows or signboards. Find an open area or a park to which you should evacuate.

You should stay away from vending machines, utility poles and downed power lines.

You should stay away from cliffs and riverbanks since they could collapse at any moment.

Evacuate from the building by using the stairs. You should never use elevators.

Protect your head with your bags or clothes. After the main shock ceases, head toward an exit on the ground level. Since many people may rush to and crowd the exit, you should be careful to avoid falling and being trampled by others.

If the elevator is equipped with an earthquake sensor, it will stop automatically at the nearest floor when the quake occurs. You should get off the elevator immediately and use the stairs to evacuate. If the elevator is not equipped with this sensor, it won't stop by itself; you should push every floor button and get off at any floor it first stops at and then use a staircase to evacuate. If the door doesn't open, use the emergency feature available in the elevator such as a phone, button or bell to inform someone outside that you are trapped. Do not try to force the door to open from inside until the rescue service arrives.

If you are standing on a train, grab a strap or bar to prevent yourself from falling. After the train stops, you should stay calm and wait for instructions from the conductor; without instructions, do not attempt to get out of the train by unlocking the emergency door lock or by jumping out from the window.

Holding the steering wheel firmly, slow down and stop the car on the left side of the road and turn off the engine.

You should stay in the car and listen to the radio for earthquake information until the quake ceases.

If you see the traffic being controlled by the police, follow their directions.

When you leave the car to evacuate on foot, leave the key in the car and the doors unlocked.

Try to collect accurate information by yourself until the confusion calms down. Listen to the news on TV and radio to stay correctly informed. After a major earthquake, it is possible to be misinformed owing to rumors and hearsay.

It is known that people who use their car as a shelter after a disaster may suffer from a condition known as economy-class syndrome (deep-vein thrombosis). It is important to evacuate to a designated shelter according to the local authority's directions.

If a major earthquake happens while you are away from home, you may have to walk to return home, as public transport such as trains or buses may not be available. To assist those who need to walk home during such time, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has designated 16 major roads and existing public high schools or gas stations to provide water, restrooms and necessary information as "aid routes" and "aid stations," respectively.

The "Emergency Message Dial" service allows a person in an earthquake-damaged area to record his/her own message, which can be retrieved by others who wish to know the whereabouts of that person. This is a temporary service and NTT will announce the beginning of the service on TV and radio.