The NHK project Experience Tokyo Megaquake has won a Prix Italia in the Web Interactive category. Prix Italia is one of the world’s most prestigious international competitions for television, radio, and web content. The Web Interactive category encompasses online projects in any form, genre, style and type which are particularly focused on the users’ participation and input, bringing interesting features for a better enjoyment, in a technology advanced and highly interactive manner. The award ceremony was held in Rome on September 25. The jurors praised Experience Tokyo Megaquake for “the ultimate, carefully planned mixture of successful social media interaction, power of television, scientifically tested simulations and behavioral patterns at the service of people’s safety during a natural disaster”.

Prix Italia for Best Web Interactive Project ‘Experience Tokyo Megaquake.’
(aired December 1–8, 2019)

The experience Tokyo Megaquake was a major, week-long project that used drama, documentary content, news programs, digital services, and events to give people in Japan a realistic experience of what would happen if Tokyo were struck by a powerful earthquake. The project began with the premise that an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 occurred directly under Tokyo at 4:04PM on December 2, 2019.

 It simulated an ongoing disaster during the one-week period. Scientists believe there is a 70% likelihood of a powerful earthquake directly under Tokyo during the next 30 years. Their estimates suggest that 23,000 people would be killed, that 123,000 people would be injured and that 412,000 homes would burn down. Experience Tokyo Megaquake not only showed people in Japan what would happen in such a huge, national disaster but also showed them what they should do to save lives. Through its coordinated use of television, digital services, and events, the project drove home the importance of efforts to mitigate disasters and prompted individuals to consider how they should play a part.

Ide Shinya, the executive producer of the project, says “as Japan’s public media, we are always trying to come up with ways to help minimize damages caused by earthquakes. We are encouraged to know that our efforts have been recognized by media professionals around the world and we will continue to produce contents that can save lives.”