Icom Launches Disaster Preparedness Education Programme Using Two-Way Radios

Icom has introduced a structured disaster preparedness education programme for junior high school students in Japan, centred on the practical use of two-way radios in emergency scenarios. The initiative was demonstrated for the first time on 9 March 2026 at Momoyama Gakuin Junior High School in Osaka.

The programme combines instructional video content — covering the differences between smartphones and transceivers, the advantages of radio communication in disaster situations, and basic operating procedures — with hands-on practical activities that simulate real emergency conditions. The curriculum is designed to be completed within a standard 45 to 50-minute class period and was developed in consultation with practising teachers.

To enable schools to run the programme independently, Icom provides a facilitation manual and a complimentary loan kit of 20 IC-DRC1MKII transceivers, a model currently available for the Japanese market.

During the Osaka demonstration, Icom staff served as instructors for three classes of first-year students, totalling approximately 120 participants. Students were divided into teams and tasked with locating information distributed around the school campus, coordinating their findings via radio. The exercise highlighted a key operational advantage of transceivers over mobile phones in emergency settings. As one student observed during the feedback session:

"With smartphones, we must call each person individually and it takes time. But transceivers are very convenient because they can share information with everyone at once."

Icom states that the programme aims to deepen students' understanding of radio communication and encourage proactive thinking about reliable communication methods in times of disaster.