Emergency drills    1/4  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
  Notes:

To ensure safe evacuation during an earthquake or other emergency, students review the evacuation routes during regularly scheduled emergency drills. Cited as desirable in the Guidelines for the Course of Study, such drills are held at least once a year in many elementary and junior high schools. Elementary students often have a protective hood made of heavy quilted material (bosai zukin) either hanging at the side of their desks or used as a seat cushion. Putting these hoods over their heads in an emergency affords protection against falling objects, especially during an earthquake.

  
   
   
   
"I don't want to do any drills!"
"We've got to be prepared, so, come on, let’s be serious."
Here we are, after practicing evacuation of the school buildings, waiting for everybody to finish lining up in the school field. We aren't allowed to take our bosai zukin (a protective hood made of heavy quilted material) off until everybody is lined up.
Schools in our area have drills once a month. There are two kinds of drills: earthquake drills and fire drills. In an earthquake drill we first crouch under our desks. In a fire drill, we cover our mouths with our handkerchiefs so we don't breathe in any smoke. After listening to the directions on the school broadcasting system, we put on the bosai zukin that we have hanging on the backs of our chairs and evacuate to the school field. Then we count the number of people to make sure everyone is accounted for. We record the time it takes for everyone to line up and try to beat that time at the next drill.
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