Japan’s weather warning levels explained: 注意報, 警報, 特別警報

If you live in Japan or travel there, you'll see weather alerts from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA, 気象庁) named with three words: 注意報 (chūihō), 警報 (keihō) and 特別警報 (tokubetsu keihō). Since 29 May 2026 there is a fourth, 危険警報, for rain, flooding, landslides and storm surge, and those alerts now carry a level number in their name.

This guide explains each tier, what changed in 2026, and how JMA's warnings relate to the five alert levels (警戒レベル) that cities and towns use for evacuation.

The three original tiers

For decades, JMA's weather alerts have come in steps of increasing seriousness. JMA's official English names are in brackets.

• 注意報 (Advisory). Weather that could cause a disaster. A reason to pay attention and check your plans.
• 警報 (Warning). Weather that could cause a serious disaster. A reason to get ready to act, and to act if local authorities ask you to.
• 特別警報 (Emergency Warning). Introduced on 30 August 2013 (JMA) for exceptionally severe conditions, far beyond normal warning criteria, where a major disaster is likely. When one is issued, JMA's message is to take action to protect your life immediately.

These descriptions are paraphrased. JMA's English pages have the official wording.

Warnings and advisories are issued for municipalities, not for whole prefectures. So a warning in one city can sit next to an advisory in the next one.

What changed on 29 May 2026

JMA and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism reorganised warnings for four rain-related hazards: heavy rain, river flooding, landslides and storm surge (announcement, in Japanese). Two things are different.

First, there's a new tier between Warning and Emergency Warning: 危険警報, which JMA translates as Urgent Warning. Second, the alert level is now part of the alert's name, so you can see at a glance how serious it is.

In English, JMA's pattern is "Level 4 Urgent Warning (Heavy rain)", "Level 3 Warning (Landslide)" and so on (JMA notation guide). Some media translate 危険警報 as "danger warning". The official term is Urgent Warning.

A few older names were retired at the same time. The landslide alert information formerly called 土砂災害警戒情報 is now the Level 4 Landslide Urgent Warning. Flood warnings issued per municipality were replaced: river flood warnings now cover designated rivers, and flooding from other rivers falls under the heavy rain warnings. Short-duration record rainfall and linear rainband notices are grouped in a new bulletin, 気象防災速報. JMA's special page (Japanese) lists every change.

If you read older guides or apps that haven't been updated, they may still use the pre-2026 names.

Other hazards keep the old names

Wind, snow and sea warnings were not given level numbers and don't map onto the alert levels. They keep the familiar tiers (JMA):

• Warnings and Emergency Warnings exist for Storm (暴風), Snow-storm (暴風雪), Heavy snow (大雪) and High waves (波浪).
• Advisories also cover Gale (強風), Gale and snow (風雪), Dense fog (濃霧), Thunderstorm (雷), Dry air (乾燥), Avalanche (なだれ), Frost (霜), Low temperature (低温), Snow-melting (融雪) and Ice or snow accretion (着氷・着雪).

Earthquakes and tsunamis have their own separate systems. For earthquakes, see our explainer on magnitude and shindo.

The five alert levels (警戒レベル)

Alongside JMA's warnings, Japan uses five alert levels for disasters like heavy rain, flooding and landslides. The Cabinet Office introduced them after the July 2018 heavy rain disaster, and they have been used since the 2019 rainy season. The point is to turn a mix of forecasts and evacuation notices into one simple scale of what to do.

Since 20 May 2021, the old "evacuation recommendation" (避難勧告) no longer exists. It was merged into the Evacuation Instruction at Level 4 (Cabinet Office flyer). The Cabinet Office's message is to finish evacuating by Level 4. At Level 5 a disaster may already be happening, and moving to a shelter may no longer be possible. The guideline was updated in March 2026 to match JMA's new warning names, and it is available in 14 languages (Cabinet Office).

One distinction matters here. JMA's warnings describe the weather danger. Evacuation instructions come from your city, town or village (市区町村). The 2026 level numbers make the two easier to read together. A "Level 4" warning from JMA and a Level 4 Evacuation Instruction from your municipality point to the same action. If your municipality issues an instruction, follow it.

How to get the alerts in English

• JMA's warnings map has an English mode, with warnings for each municipality.
• The Japan Tourism Agency's free Safety tips app sends earthquake early warnings, tsunami warnings and weather warnings in 15 languages. It's designed for visitors.
• TV and radio carry emergency warnings.
• Your municipality's website and disaster-prevention email lists carry evacuation information. Some have English or multilingual pages.

Herebeat shows JMA alerts for the places you save. A 注意報 appears as an Advisory, and any 警報, including 危険警報 and 特別警報, appears as an Official warning, with the alert's own name and JMA as the source.

A quick way to read a JMA alert

Look at the level number first if there is one. Level 2 means check your plans. Level 3 means people who need more time should move. Level 4 means everyone in danger areas should evacuate. Level 5 means act immediately to protect your life where you are. For alerts without a number, the word tells you the tier. Then check your municipality for evacuation instructions, and keep in mind that conditions in mountains, near rivers and on the coast can change quickly.