The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Gehirn, a small private firm running an initiative called NERV, has been crucial in alerting millions of people about disasters in Japan, especially during the recent 7.6 magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day.
With just 13 full-time staff, Gehirn’s NERV provides faster earthquake warnings compared to official bodies and NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster. NERV, which means “brain” in German, has a significant presence on X (formerly Twitter) with 2.2 million Japanese followers and 35,000 English users.
The app launched in 2019 has been downloaded over four million times, providing real-time information on various natural disasters. NERV began in 2010 as a parody account and gained prominence during Japan’s most powerful earthquake in 2011.
It has since become a reliable source for disaster alerts, even though recent changes to X’s API have led NERV to shift its focus toward its own platform. Gehirn, driven by a mission to make Japan safer, funds its operations through a paid membership scheme called the “supporters’ club” but is still working to cover its costs.
