Stay informed with free updates
Simply sign up to the Aerospace & Defence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
A 135-year-old office furniture supplier is positioned to help Japan get ready for war by building 1,400kg doors for underground bomb shelters as the Japanese government develops plans to overhaul evacuation sites for missile attacks.
Japan has been loosening postwar constraints on its military activities and increasing defence spending in response to regional threats and US pressure to be more self-sufficient. It is surrounded by nuclear-armed North Korea, China and Russia.
Policymakers have identified sites to help almost double underground shelter capacity, creating space for about 10mn people, with the government set to finalise its shelter policies by early next year, according to the Cabinet Office.
Motoki Nakamura, who leads the door business at Itoki, one of Japan’s largest listed office designers, said in an interview that the company is part of a shelter design working group which will submit its findings to the government.
If Itoki wins the tenders, Nakamura expects the first revenues for the doors, which weigh as much as a family car, to start in 2027.
Japan aims to complete its first public shelter designed to house people for two weeks and withstand missile attacks in two and a half years. The shelter is to be built in the Sakishima Islands close to Taiwan, a country which has been preparing for an attack from China for decades. Other missile shelters are planned.
Itoki, which holds the Guinness Book record for the world’s heaviest door at the National Institute for Fusion Science in Gifu, is considered a likely partner for the shelters, said analysts.
At present, almost 4,000 of Japan’s 58,589 shelters are underground. The Japan Nuclear Shelter Association said there are none that would withstand a nuclear missile attack.
“There are evacuation shelters in Japan, but in reality, they’re often just gymnasiums at schools or similar places — really just temporary spots to take refuge,” said Nakamura. “When something truly serious happens, there are almost no places that genuinely protect lives.”
The government plans do not detail how many underground shelters would be equipped with specialist kit such as reinforced walls, heavy doors and ventilation to withstand bombing and prevent the entry of radiation or chemical agents.
Itoki was founded in 1890 to bring typewriters, staplers and Thermos bottles into Japan. Its shares have risen 55 per cent since the start of the year, as the company benefits from inflation, labour shortages and defence spending.
Japan’s office furniture groups have emerged from decades of price wars to raise prices as refurbishment demand grows from companies refitting offices to attract workers without raising wages. They are also offering design consultancy services.
“All of them are raising selling prices and their clients want more premium offices to attract employees because of the tight labour environment,” said Ryozo Minagawa, an analyst at SMBC Nikko, about the furniture companies.
