22 May 2025, Osaka – The Philippine Consulate General in Osaka participated in the evacuation drill attended by occupants and tenants of Osaka Twin Towers Buildings. The Twin 21 is the iconic building of Osaka Business Park comprising two towers – the OBP Panasonic Tower (or “Panasonic House”) and the MID Tower, which houses a number of blue-chip corporations and consular missions, including the Australian Consulate-General (16th Floor) and the Philippine Consulate General in Osaka on the 24th floor.

The evacuation drill, which was participated in by over a thousand office workers, ran for three hours. It began with the siren signals and announcement of an emergency through the public assistance system of the building, followed by the actual evacuation of people from their respective offices at different floors through the emergency stair-exits, leading to the evacuation site located in the open space on the structure’s ground floor. By designation, tenants and occupants located at even-numbered floors took the blue-colored stairs while tenants at odd-numbered floors took the yellow-colored stairs. Participants during the evacuation drills wore their hard hats, simulated a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, and tried (hands-on) the fire extinguishers. The Osaka Fire Department conducts Twin 21’s evacuation drills twice annually, in May and in December.

The drill's aim is to keep the building occupants and tenants aware, alert, and prepared for disasters—earthquake, fire, and other types of emergencies. The Consulate General of the Philippines requires all its personnel to attend these evacuation exercises as part of a safety and security awareness program.

The following personnel attended the evacuation drill in May 2025: Vice Consul Christy Fe C. Conta, Mr. Jose Juancho A. Perez, and Ms. Yasuyo Yoshida. End.