A complete corporate disaster-stockpile list | Required amounts per person and selection criteria

April 7, 2026April 10, 2026

Summary of this article

As a corporate disaster-stockpile list, we explain concrete required amounts—9 L of drinking water, 9 staple servings, 6–9 packs of dried vegetables, and 3–6 cans—based on the Cabinet Office’s recommendation of three days’ worth of stockpiles per employee. We also cover selection criteria for alpha rice, hardtack, and canned bread, the easily overlooked importance of vegetable stockpiling, living supplies such as a cassette stove and portable toilets, and management points like distributed storage and an annual inventory, with a calculation example for a 50-person scale.

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What you will learn from this article

Required Stockpile per Employee Based on Cabinet Office Recommendations
Selection Criteria by Item and How to Calculate the Required Quantities
The Easily Overlooked Approach to “Vegetable” Stockpiling
A Ready-to-Use Stockpile Checklist

Basic Rules of Disaster Stockpiling

The Cabinet Office (disaster management) guidelines recommend that companies keepat least three days’ worth of stockpiles per employee.

Under the Basic Plan for Measures Against an Earthquake Directly Beneath Tokyo, rescue and relief activities take top priority for the first three days after a disaster, so you need to prepare on the premise that you can’t rely on outside support during that time.

Basic Quantities for Three Days

Item	Per person per day	For 3 days
Drinking water	3L	9L
Staples	3 meals	9 meals
Blanket	—	1

On top of this, portable toilets, first-aid supplies, and flashlights are also needed.

Stockpile List and Selection Criteria by Item

Drinking water

Required Amount: 3 L per person per day × 3 days = 9 L
18 bottles at 500 ml, or 4.5 at 2 L
Best-before date: generally 2 years. Long-life water lasts 5–7 years
Selection point: consider the storage space.It’s heavy, so store it on the lower shelves

Staples (energy source)

Item	Cost per serving	Best-before date	Features
Alpha rice	Approx. 300 yen	5 years	Prepared with hot or cold water. Rich variety of flavors
Hardtack	About 150 yen	5 years	Eat as is—though it’s hard to eat
Canned bread	About 350 yen	3–5 years	Eat as is—and it’s soft
Crackers	About 100 yen	3 years	Lightweight and inexpensive. A bit less filling

The recommendation isalpha rice as the mainstay, with canned bread as a backup—a balance. If it’s all the same, you get sick of it and it becomes stressful.

Protein Source

Canned goods (tuna, mackerel, yakitori, etc.): 3–6 cans per person
Retort foods: curry, stew, etc.
Selection point: choose pull-top cans that don’t need a can opener

Vegetable and Vitamin Sources ★ Watch for Oversights

This is the category that at many companies iscompletely missing.

Item	Required Amount (3 days)	Best-before date	Benefits
Dried vegetables	6–9 packs/person	6 months to 1 year	Lightweight and compact. Just rehydrate in hot water
Vegetable Juice	3–6 bottles/person	About 1 year	Drink as is—though it’s heavy
Freeze-dried soup	3–6 meals/person	1–3 years	Vegetable-packed soup made easy

Frankly,dried vegetables are the top pick for their balance of cost, space, and nutrition. At 20–30 g per pack they’re light, and a single cardboard box covers 50 people.

Cooking and Living Supplies

Item	Required Amount	Notes
Cassette stove	2–3 units	Gas canisters for 3 days as well
Paper plates and disposable chopsticks	People × 9 sets	On the premise that water can’t be used
Plastic wrap	3 rolls	Lay it on plates to cut down on washing up
Portable toilets	People × 15 uses	Assuming 5 uses per person per day
Blankets	One per person	Aluminum blankets are acceptable
Flashlights	2–3 per floor	Watch out for expired batteries
Radio	1 unit	A hand-crank charging type is recommended
First-aid kit	1 set	Including regular medications

Stockpile Quantity Calculation Sheet

A simple calculation table where entering the number of employees tells you the required amount.

Item	Formula	For 50 people
Drinking water	People × 9 L	450 L (225 bottles at 2 L)
Alpha rice	People × 6 meals	300 servings
Canned bread	People × 3 meals	150 meals
Canned goods	People × 3 cans	150 cans
Dried vegetables	People × 9 packs	450 packs
Portable toilets	People × 15 uses	750 uses

Securing and Managing Stockpile Space

The Case for Distributed Storage

If you keep everything in one place, losing that place wipes out the whole stockpile.Distribute storage across at least two locations.

Main: warehouse or stockpile room
Sub: behind lockers or the kitchenette on each floor

Management Points

An annual inventory (September, Disaster Preparedness Month, is recommended)
Create a best-before-date management table in Excel
Consume items nearing expiration via internal distribution or disaster drills
Everyday consumption via rolling stock is most efficient for dried vegetables

FAQ

Q1: How many days’ worth of stockpile is appropriate?

The Cabinet Office’s minimum recommendation is three days, but when anticipating large-scale disasters such as a Nankai Trough earthquake,a week’s worth is ideal, it’s said. First get three days’ worth solidly in place, then expand to a week if you have the capacity.

Q2: How much do stockpiled foods cost per person?

About 3,000–5,000 yen for three days is the guide. Choose 5-year-storage foods and the annual cost is around 600–1,000 yen per person. Rolling-stock dried vegetables can be handled as employee-benefit expenses, so the dedicated stockpiling cost can be held down even further.

Q3: Do stockpiles matter even for a tenant office?

Yes. There are cases where the building as a whole has stockpiles, but stockpiles for each tenant company are also recommended. Food in particular requires consideration of individual preferences and allergies, so preparing your own gives peace of mind.

Q4: Do stockpiled foods need to accommodate allergies?

If any employees have allergies, you should prepare accommodating items. Many dried vegetables have vegetables as their only ingredient and contain no major allergens (wheat, egg, dairy, etc.), making them excellent as allergy-friendly foods.

Q5: Is there a legal obligation to stockpile?

In principle there’s no legal obligation, but in Tokyo the “Ordinance on Measures for Stranded Commuters” sets a best-effort obligation for businesses to keep three days’ worth of stockpiles. In other regions too, BCP-development guidelines recommend stockpiling.

Author of this article

Rei Kojima Agriture CEO

CEO of Agriture Inc. Runs a contract processing and OEM business centered on dried vegetables and dried fruit. In partnership with farmers within Kyoto Prefecture, he pursues “sustainable food distribution” through the use of non-standard vegetables and support for sixth-industrialization. Drawing on extensive hands-on experience at manufacturing sites, he provides support that walks alongside every business considering OEM—from product planning and prototyping to small-lot handling, packaging design, and sales-channel development.

A complete corporate disaster-stockpile list | Required amounts per person and selection criteria

What you will learn from this article