ISSN 0915-3160

通巻百三十号

No.

2Vol. 33 April 2021
SpringS pec i a l Feat u re

ICT Contributing to Disaster Prevention and Mitigation

R&D and Societal Activities at the NICT Resilient ICT Research Center
Disaster-prevention Initiatives using AI and Related Information on SNS
Continuing Evolution of Weather Radar Technology

New Breeze Vol. 33 No.2 Spring

New Breeze

April 2021

C O N T E N T S

ISSN 0915-3160

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		 Special Feature — I CT Contributing to Disaster Prevention and1
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The Telecommunication Technology Committee

Mitigation

R&D and Societal Activities at the NICT Resilient ICT ResearchCenter — Focusing on wireless infrastructure technologies —Disaster-prevention Initiatives using AI and Related Information on
SNS
Continuing Evolution of Weather Radar Technology

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R&D and Societal Activities at the NICT Resilient ICT
Research Center— Focusing on wireless infrastructure technologies —Yoiti Suzuki

Toshiaki Kuri

Director General
Resilient ICT Research Center
National Institute of Information andCommunications Technology

Director
Applications Laboratory
Resilient ICT Research Center
National Institute of Information andCommunications Technology

Yasunori Owada

Tsutomu Nagatsuma

Senior Researcher
Applications Laboratory
Resilient ICT Research Center
National Institute of Information andCommunications Technology

1. Introduction
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is thefoundation of daily activity in society. If we think of the electricity
grid and distribution networks playing the same role as blood in
the human body, ICT plays the role of the nervous system andbrain. With the arrival of the age of the Internet of Things (IoT)
and cyber-physical systems, this role will expand and increase inimportance.
However, with the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011,
there was extensive damage to communication networks, causing
life-threatening delays in obtaining information regarding thedamage, as well as causing major difficulty conveying informationsuch as the well-being of survivors and obtaining daily necessities.
Learning from this experience, research and development toimprove resilience of data communication networks was started,with a third revision to the 2011 MIC budget. Then, in April,2012, the National Institute of Information and Communications
Technology (NICT), Resilient ICT Research Center was
established in Sendai City. It was organized for collaboration
among industry, academia and government, to promote initiatives
in resilient ICT R&D and their implementation in society. In
2014, a building for the center was completed on the KatahiraCampus of Tohoku University. Tohoku University has the
Research Institute of Electrical Communication, which wasestablished in 1935, the Graduate School of Engineering and the
Graduate School of Information Sciences, so there is much active
research related to ICT. After the earthquake, it also established
the Research Organization of Electrical Communication,gathering faculty with a desire for resilient ICT research.
Initiatives at the Resilient ICT Research Center promote
fundamental and applied research on resilient ICT and its
implementation in society, to maximize the contribution of theresults of such R&D to society. The Planning and Collaboration
Promotion Office collaborates with laboratories within andoutside of the Center, promotes collaboration with external

Director
Planning and Collaboration Promotion Office
Resilient ICT Research Center
National Institute of Information andCommunications Technology

research organizations, including those in Tohoku University,and works to establish a network among industry, academia andgovernment. It also promotes demonstration and use during
real disasters, of resilient ICT research results arising throughrelated collaboration among industry, academia and government,
including disaster preparedness exercises, and implementation ofresearch results in society through symposia and exhibitions.
This article gives an overview of recent R&D results, focusing
on resilient ICT infrastructure technologies, and demonstrations
and other initiatives to implement them in society.

2. Resilient ICT research at the Resilient ICT
Research Center
The Center has two laboratories in which it conducts resilient
ICT R&D: The Infrastructure Laboratory has the Optical
Networks project, and the Applications Laboratory has the
Wireless Communication Applications project and the Real-TimeSocial Knowledge Analysis project.
2.1 Infrastructure Laboratory
Optical networks use low-loss optical fiber to realize longdistance, high-capacity communication, so they are used forwide-area core networks. Before, during and after large-scaledisasters, optical networks should be able to switch smoothly
among redundant optical network resources to mitigate majorcongestion, and to quickly establish emergency optical networks
to satisfy various communication requirements in disaster areas.
We are conducting R&D on the technologies for an elastic opticalswitching platform and emergency recovery of optical networks.
When a large-scale disaster occurs, due to the increased
communication requirements into and out of the affected regions,congestion will happen in wide-area networks. The goal ofelastic optical switching technology is to establish fundamental
technologies enabling dynamic reconfiguration, in the spectral
domain and the time domain, to avoid congestion when

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a disaster occurs, making the optical network infrastructure
more resilient. We have optimized the processing in an opticalpower equalization system for acousto-optic devices, making it
possible to maintain transmission quality with stable response
times when the power changes due to optical switching. To
realize interconnection with heterogeneous traffic, we have also
worked on the data plane of integrated optical networks: we haveconducted R&D on interconnection between integrated optical
networks and different transport networks such as MPLS, Ether,
OpenFlow, and IP. For the control/management plane, we havefocused R&D on orchestration technology for interconnection.
These technologies enable services delivering traffic crossing
over the integrated optical networks and different transport
networks during normal times. In addition, during disasters
and emergencies, the integrated optical networks (as the core
networks) can be employed to relay different types of traffic forthe disconnected MPLS, Ether, OpenFlow and IP networks,
resulting in quick restoration of communications.
In R&D on emergency recovery of optical networks, we aredeveloping a self-healing control-system technology using multifunction recovery support tools to facilitate rapid emergency
recovery of optical networks near a disaster area when opticalfiber communications is interrupted. We are also collaboratingwith enterprise to develop technology for creating and utilizing
a temporary shared packet transport network between carriers,
implementing automated control without leaking confidential
carrier information. Based on this research, we are conducting
R&D on carrier-collaboration platform technology that will
enable carriers to cooperate during disaster, sharing surviving
communication-facility resources with each other. We implement
third-party mediation that incentivizes collaboration between
carriers (mutual provision of optical path support, balancing of
repair tasks), promoting R&D and collaboration that will advancedisaster recovery. During a disaster, this platform will make itpossible to set a concrete collaboration plan between carriers,
including sharing of optical path resources and allocating repair
tasks among each other by matching supply and demand forresources.
Since FY2018, we have also been conducting R&D on
disaster-resiliency strategies for next-generation metro optical
networks under the Joint Japan-US Network Opportunity 2(JUNO2) project. In this research, we are conducting R&D on arobust telemetry technology that can quickly rebuild lost optical
network functions of monitoring and telemetry during disaster,using a temporary control and management planes establishedwith various access methods, such as private mesh networks, 4G,
satellite and the Internet. We are conducting trials of telemetryfunctions that gather monitoring data using open APIs andprotocols, and verifying that network management systems canbe notified and quickly gain a global view of network conditions,even with limited and unstable bandwidth, prioritizing important
information appropriately.

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2.2 Applications Laboratory
This laboratory promotes the Wireless Communication
Applications Project, which conducts R&D on network utilization
technology to guarantee information-f low requirements inenvironments where network resources are limited, and theReal-time Social Knowledge Analysis Project, which conducts
R&D on technology to obtain necessary disaster information by
analyzing disaster-related social knowledge on Social Network
Services (SNS) and to present it in a user-friendly form.
The next section introduces R&D on a network systemtechnology that the Wireless Communication Applications
Project has been actively working on recently, which can beused continuously even when public communication has beeninterrupted, and how this technology is being deployed in society.
A detailed report of work by the Real-time Social Knowledge
Analysis Project is also given in another article in this issue, titled“Disaster-prevention Initiatives using AI and Related Information
on SNS.”

3. R&D on network system technologies thatmaintain availability when public networks
are interrupted and promotion of results
We are conducting R&D on distributed network systemtechnologies that are resistant to interruption through selfmanagement, enabling both internal communication andapplication services to be maintained, and also facilitating
construction and expansion of networks. Municipalities such as
cities and towns are being required to respond quickly and withflexibility to various natural disasters that have been occurring
more frequently of late. In such conditions, the role of information
is extremely important for understanding conditions of the entire
disaster as they change from minute-to-minute, and for making
timely and appropriate decisions. However, as experienced withlarge-scale disasters such as the Great East Japan Earthquake,public telecommunications may not always be available due tocongestion or damage, so how to maintain the flow of informationeven under such conditions is an important key to facilitating
support efforts on the ground. One network system technology
being developed to maintaining information flow, introduced
below, is called “Die-hard Networks”[1]. Its objective is to enable
continuous disaster-response work, even between distant locations,by collecting information on servers distributed among vehicles
and facilities, and synchronizing that information between theservers using various communication channels that have different
characteristics.
3.1 Overview of Die-hard networks
3.1.1 Targeted functional elements
Die-hard networks were proposed and developed as a network
system technology that will enable workers to continue using
systems, even during disasters and under other conditions where
public communications are interrupted, and enable sharing ofinformation between various remote locations and organizations,maximizing utilization of limited means of communication.
Features of the technology are described below.
(1) Links between distributed on-premises systems
To enable on-site workers to continue their work under any
conditions, an autonomous distributed architecture was adopted.
Thus, there are no nodes that provide centralized systemmanagement and control, or provide services. Each node provides
application services and network control on-premises, and detects
and connects with other nodes with the same functionality.
This enables nodes to autonomously share and synchronize data
(document files, images, etc.) and other information with eachother, sharing it between distributed systems at different locations.
(2) Proactive use of mobile resources
Sharing of data as described above is performed in an eventdriven manner, when there are updates, or when connecting to
a new node. The system is designed using a database to manage
data, synchronizing data between nodes so that inconsistencies
do not occur. This enables each node to add and update data
independently, without assuming a constant connection with othernodes, sharing and synchronizing data between devices only whenmobile devices are nearby, and using them as a means of storing
and transporting information.
(3) Utilization of heterogeneous communication systems
The system implements functions that enable various
communication technologies for connections between nodes,
combining available means of communication and using themaccording to their various characteristics from the applicationlevel. For example, wireless local area networks (wireless LAN,
or “Wi-Fi”) are capable of relatively high capacity data exchange
when a mobile station is nearby, but the range is limited, and it canbe difficult to predict when a connection to which mobile station
will be possible, or when it will be disconnected. Conversely,communication with Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) or
Convenience Radio is capable of broadcast and communication
over relatively longer distances, but has very low speed and is more
subject to data loss, so it is not suitable for image transmission
or other high-volume data exchange. Long Term Evolution(LTE) connections are capable of very stable, high-speed Internet
connections, but contracting mobile service providers only provide
private Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses, so IP address
resolution and direct communication is not possible between
nodes behind the NAT gateways, and data synchronizationmust be done through a cloud service with a global address.
The system implements Application Programming Interfaces(APIs) that enable proactive and efficient use of various meansof communication, according to their differing characteristics
as in the examples above (such as priority, real-time or not,data transmission capacity, broadcast, and single or full-duplex
communication) so that distributed, on-premises systems runningon nodes can maintain resilient links between each other.
(4) Authentication and access control in distributed environments

Information handled by local governments includes personal
information so free access by anyone cannot be permitted. As
such, connection to distributed on-premises systems on eachnode and access to data stored and managed within themmust be limited to users and through terminals that have beenauthenticated. Similar restrictions are also required between nodes
for communication between devices and connections throughLTE or the Internet. Die-hard Networks do not assume constantconnections between nodes or with the Internet, so authorization
to connect and access to information is also authenticated between
distributed nodes.
3.1.2 Die-hard Network node prototype
We have prototyped a Die-hard Network node. The prototype
node specifications are shown in the Table[1]. Under normal
circumstances the prototype node uses the mobile phone network(LTE data communication) and implements a mechanism that
automatically synchronizes data between each node and a node on
the cloud. Besides LTE, each node also has two Wi-Fi interfaces,with one operating as an access point using hostapd[2], and theother operating as a station using wpa_supplicant[3]. The Wi-Fi
access points can connect to other nodes and synchronize data,
but they are also used to accommodate smartphones, tablets andPCs used by disaster responders, and provide application services
to them.
The prototype node implements Fast Initial Link Setup(FILS) on wireless LAN based on the IEEE802.1ai standard[4],providing authentication server, Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP) server and Wi-Fi access point functions, sothat they are operating on all nodes of the network. This enables
high-speed wireless LAN connections with user authenticationequivalent to Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) Enterprise. This
also allows for more data to be transferred between nodes during
the limited time available in scenarios when mobile nodes passeach other, or when mobile nodes pass near nodes in fixed stations.
Each node is also equipped with digital convenience radio■ Table: Prototype node specifications

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equipment, for long distance communication. This is used mainly
for transmitting control information between nodes, but when
the regular LTE connection is interrupted, it can also be used totransmit high priority application data (low volume text data). The
system is also designed so that Long Range (LoRa) and other IoT
radio communication devices can be added.
3.1.3 Application software
Application software running on the Die-hard network system
is implemented as Web server based applications[1]. Users are able
to enter and view information on the system using a Web browser
on a PC or smartphone connected to the system by Wi-Fi. The
system also implements APIs so that dedicated applications canbe developed to facilitate entry of information on a smartphone.
Thus, applications can be developed to use the system as requiredby users, such as: enabling registered users and devices to simplify
login to the system, updating information with photos attached,sharing location information for on-site workers, or distributing
audio information within groups like a transceiver.
3.2 Use of prototype node in disaster medical drills
The prototype was used in the comprehensive disaster
preparedness drill held in Kochi Prefecture on June 9, 2019. The
drill supposed conditions in which public communications werecompletely lost due to an earthquake in the Nankai Trough. As
in earlier drills, training was done using conventional meansof communication, such as administrative disaster prevention
radio systems. Specifically, this involved writing messages on
paper based on prefectural forms (e.g., reports from first-aid
stations to municipal disaster-response centers, status reports
from disaster response centers to prefectural medical coordination
office, requests to admit serious patients, and responses), andthen transmitting them by FA X. In parallel with this,prototype nodes were installed at the Kochi Prefecture Medical
Coordination office (Kochi Prefecture Central-East Health andWelfare Office), the Konan City Disaster Response Office (theFureai Center), and the emergency medical aid station (Konan
City, Akaoka Insurance Center). Drills were then conductedtransmitting the same information digitally, without paper, using
the prototype nodes with the LTE function disabled[5]. An
information transmission application developed for the drills was
installed on the prototype nodes, and a Die-hard Network system
was configured using several nodes. Figure 1 shows the locationsof each of the stations using the system in the drill, and theinformation transmitted.
With the system, text information entered in reports andrequests is automatically synchronized and shared by Digital
Convenience Radio with the municipal disaster response centeror the prefectural medical coordination center. At each location,a mechanism is implemented to automatically share such status
or authorization information by simply performing the approval
and authorization processes on the system. City and prefecture

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staffs participating in the drills were requested to use the system
and were able to perform the drill according to the prescribedscenarios. Screen shots of the applications used are shown in
Figures 2 and 3.
Beyond the scenarios of the drill, we also demonstrated storage
and transmission of information that cannot be transmitted using
prefecture forms, such as the status of critical patients in care at
the first-aid centers, and photographs of triage tags. Prototype
nodes on moving vehicles automatically synchronized information
through Wi-Fi, so photographic data stored on nodes at firstaid stations was automatically transmitted to the vehicle node,
and when the vehicle arrived at the parking lot of the medical
coordination center, the photographic data was automaticallytransmitted to nodes there. We confirmed that photos could
be displayed on PCs in the center. In this way, we verified thateven high-volume data that is difficult to transmit by Digital
Convenience Radio can be shared automatically, transported by
vehicle, when public telecommunications are interrupted.
■ Figure 1: Locations and information transmitted for eachlocation in drills■ Figure 2: Data transmission application screen(Status display screen for Requests/Approvals/
Reports)

■ Figure 3: Data input screen matching prefecture forms

These efforts have shown that this network system technology
is effective, providing continuous availability even when public
telecommunication systems are interrupted.
3.3 Future prospects
The Die-hard Network system described here is being
developed as a technology to provide a continuous means ofcommunication, to share information among aid workers active
on-site during disasters, and is being verified in disaster prevention
drills.
In the future, we will continue development of individual
technical elements necessary for Die-hard Networks, and build
them into the Disaster Prevention Information, Communicationand Management System in Konan City, Kochi Prefecture. We
will also link with the Shared Information Platform for Disaster
Management (SIP4D) system[6], create platform functionality thatcan be shared for various uses, improve extensibility, and expand
laterally so that it can also be used by other local governments anddisaster-response agencies.

4. Conclusion
Having learned lessons from the Great East Japan
Earthquake, the Resilient ICT Research Center is engaged in
R&D on ICT that is resilient in the face of earthquakes and otherlarge-scale disasters and is working to implement it in society. In
recent years, we have also frequently seen meteorological disasters

such as wind and water damage from typhoons, and sudden
and heavy “guerilla” rainstorms. Moreover, we have learned
that pandemics such as that resulting from COVID-19 have astrong impact to society, similar to large-scale disasters. ICT
must function properly in order to minimize damage to life andeconomy and to support repair and recovery. With developmentof ICT and in a society where every citizen is connected to the
network, we have entered an age that requires construction of
cyber-physical ICT social infrastructure that can support everyday
social systems and services, and is continuously maintained andoperating right through into times of disaster. To realize thisvision will require further R&D on technical systems that are, as
the word “resilient” indicates, both tougher and more flexible.
References[1] Y. Owada et al.: “Information Sharing System for Disaster Response Using Asynchronous
Opportunistic Communications Among Distributed Servers,” IEICE Tech. Rep., Vol. 120, No.
73, SeMI2020-2, pp. 7-12, June 2020.
[2] J . Malinen: “hostapd: IEEE 802.11 AP, IEEE 802.1X / WPA / WPA2/E AP/ RADIUS
Authenticator,” https://w1.fi/hostapd/, 2013.
[3] J. Malinen: “hostapd: Linux WPA/WPA2/IEEE 802.1XSupplicant,” https://w1.fi/wpa_
supplicant/, 2013.
[4] “IEEE Standard for Information technology-Telecommunications and information exchange
between systems Local and metropolitan area networks-Specific requirements-Part 11:
Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications,”
IEEE Std 802.11-2016, pp. 1-3534, doi: 10.1109/IEEESTD. 2016.7786995, Dec. 2016.
[5] “Trials conducted transmitting health and welfare information during disaster, without using
public telecommunications, in Kochi Prefecture Comprehensive Disaster Preparedness
Drills,” https://www.nict.go.jp/info/topics/2019/06/20-1.html, June 2019.
[6] “ Shared Information Platform for Disaster Management (SI P4D),” https://www.sip4d.jp/

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Disaster-prevention Initiatives using AI and RelatedInformation on SNS
Kiyonori Ohtake

Executive Researcher
Application Laboratory Resilient ICT Research Center
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology

1. Introduction
Since the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake the value of social media
and SNS in particular, has been widely recognized. The ability
for anyone to send information easily in real-time was shown to
be useful for disaster response, but it is also widely recognized thatsince SNS are quite anonymous, it is also easy to spread erroneous
information and cause confusion in society. Seeing the need to use
such disaster-related information on SNS despite such qualities,
the National Institute of Information and Communication
Technology (NICT) began public trials in April 2015, of the
DISAster-information ANAlyzer (DISAANA) system, whichanalyzes disaster SNS data on Twitter, and in October 2016, of
the Disaster-information SUMMarizer (D-SUMM) system,
which summarizes the state of disaster. These are being usedin disaster preparedness drills by local governments and in realdisasters, to verify the technology, and support further, ongoing
R&D. This article reviews these two systems, how they have been
used, and gives an overview of a system called “SOCial dynamics
Observation and victims support Dialogue Agent platform fordisaster management” (SOCDA) and related initiatives. SOCDA
is a chatbot for disaster management intended to resolve problems
identified in use of the earlier two systems and is the result of
R&D that began in 2018, as a second-term project of the Cabinet
Office’s Strategic Innovation Program (SIP).

2. Twitter analysis with DISAANA and
D-SUMM
Simply put, DISAANA is a question answering system.
Question answering is a technology that selects answers toquestions from some body of knowledge (usually a large volume oftext such as an encyclopedia). Questions could be of various types:
Who, What, Where, When, Why, or How; but DISAANA
emphasizes understanding what happened and where in a disaster,so the focus is on “What” and “Where” questions. We have ahistory of R&D on such Q&A technology, and already provide
trial access to a Q&A system on the WISDOM X Web page(https://wisdom-nict.jp/). DISAANA can be considered asapplying some of the technology used for WISDOM X to Twitter,extending it to process place names appropriately. From the
beginning of R&D on DISAANA, we described the prototype
system to relevant staff at local governments and asked them about
difficulties in gathering information. They pointed out that eventhinking of questions and entering them can be difficult, and they
did not have time to carefully check all the Q&A results, so theyneeded a way to comprehend what disaster-related information

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was on the SNS, in a compact and user-friendly form. In parallelwith DISAANA R&D, there was also R&D to automaticallyextract disaster-related information found on SNS, and weaccelerated this work. Since 2014, we received support from the
Cabinet Office’s Strategic Innovation Project (SIP) for R&D
on D-SUMM, a system that automatically extracts disasterrelated information from SNS and from it, summarizes disasterconditions in a compact and user-friendly form. Trial operation of
the system began in October, 2016. Details of these two systems
can be found in references at the end of this article.

3. Bi-directional communication on LINE with
SOCDA
Twitter and other SNS enable anyone to post information
easily in real-time, immediately sharing conditions in far-away
places with photos and videos, so they hold great promise as
useful tools during disasters. On the other hand, a person postingdisaster information on Twitter and the like can post whatever
they want, so the information will not necessarily be useful indisaster response efforts. Furthermore, even if a person is able topost their distress situation on a SNS, and someone at a disasterresponse facility sees it and is able to provide information thatis useful for the original poster, human resources are limited intimes of disaster, and it would not be possible to respond to allsuch posts. This prompted the idea of developing an AI that could
autonomously gather such information and distribute information
appropriately, instead of a person. Starting in FY2018, we received
Cabinet Office second-term SIP support and began R&D
on the SOCDA chatbot for disaster management. R&D on
SOCDA is being conducted jointly with the National ResearchInstitute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) andWeathernews Inc. We also collaborated with LINE Corp. and
the Japan Institute of Law and Information Systems (JILIS) for
trials, operation and to study the system and other aspects ofimplementation in society.
SOCDA means Dialogue Agent platform for disaster management, and it is a platform for collecting and distributing disaster-related information through bi-directional communication,
mainly with text interaction on SNS. Broadly speaking, SOCDA
is not intended as a platform for a specific SNS, but currently weare collaborating with LINE Corporation to develop a chatbot
program operating on the LINE SNS, together with various
back-end programs, so for ordinary users accessing it from a LINE
account, SOCDA can be more narrowly defined as a chatbot program on LINE.

With over 80 million users, LINE is currently the SNS withthe most users in Japan, so in terms of coverage, it is promisingfor implementing a service in society. An overview of SOCDA
is given in Figure 1. There are two main functions implemented
by SOCDA. One is information gathering, and the other isinformation distribution. Rather than having individual citizens
providing information spontaneously and exhaustively, the desired
information can be collected, and processed, and new decisions
regarding disaster response can be distributed quickly. NICT
has contributed to SCODA R&D with technology to analyze
the collected information and visualize it on a map, applying
technologies from DISAANA and D-SUMM. In doing so,
we have advanced R&D on more user-friendly visualization
methods and more accurate methods for analyzing the collected
information.
In past R&D on DISAANA and D-SUMM, we haveshown that Twitter and other SNS are platforms that treat people
as a kind of sensor. However, by implementing bi-directional
communication on the SNS, extending the analogy, we can also
treat people as actuators. We could also say they are acting as
active sensors, rather than passive sensors. As such, we can expect

to be able to collect a range of information quickly, even underconditions that we could not previously, such as checking disasterconditions when a disaster has occurred during the night. Reliable
positioning information, photographs and video can also be sharednow, so it is possible to collect the desired information quickly, andinformation contributing to evacuation and other activities can be
distributed quickly.
When implementing bi-directional communication withthis sort of chatbot, it is desirable for the text chat to feel likeinteracting with a person, but when a large-scale disaster occurs,a real problem is that information needs to be collected from, anddistributed to, a huge number of people over an extremely shortperiod of time. As such, we prioritized scalability in the design
and implementation of SOCDA, so that we could maintain aminimum level of quality that people can tolerate in the disasterprevention-domain, while handling numbers of interactions in ashort time that would be overwhelming if attempted by humanpersonnel.
As a result of active trials with local governments and otherorganizations since FY2018, most issues are being clarified,including technical but also institutional and other issues. For■ Figure 1: Overview of SOCDA, a chatbot for disaster management

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example, there is a responsibility issue with a chatbot for disastermanagement. To enable bi-directional communication, members
must become friends with the SOCDA account, but without aclear commitment to taking responsibility in handling shared
information, it will be difficult to gain members’ cooperation.
There is also an issue of how the information provided to SOCDA
by residents is handled. In prior tests, information was gathered ina format that anyone could look at, and information was used ina way that the information provider remained anonymous. This
helped curb any resistance to providing information, but who
provided the information and from where was unknown, so it wasdifficult to encourage cooperation and information sharing within
the community.
On the other hand, relatively soon after R&D began, we
began studying use of SOCDA for communication with personnel
and collaborating facilities such as the fire department, rather thanwith general residents. Use by government or fire department
staff in this way means it is being used at the front lines ofdisaster response, and we realized there were hardware and otherconstraints that we had not anticipated earlier (Smartphones
require touch, so they cannot be used hands-free. We also want
to use speech recognition to simplify input, but could not always
obtain the desired results due to noise from heavy rain and othercauses).
We also heard from one government agency, that a large
amount of effort was required to confirm the safety of people
needing help with evacuation when a typhoon was approaching.
They inquired whether SOCDA could be used for that purpose.
We conducted two trials of this application. In the first trial, we
checked the basic functionality using test data, and in the second
trial, we had people needing help become friends on SOCDA and
LINE, and enter their safety information under conditions similar
to a real environment. This showed the technical potential, butalso exposed issues requiring further study, such as how personal
information should be handled.
In January, 2020, we also conducted a large information
gathering drill using SOCDA on a scale of ten thousand
participants in Kobe City. We verified performance in collecting
a large volume of information in a short time, reduced the volume
and increased the speed when providing results of visualizing theinformation to many during that same short time. We were able
to verify and make improvements for even larger-scale use in the
future.
We plan to continue implementing various planned features in
SOCDA and to verify them in practical tests.

4. Disaster prevention and mitigation using
SNS in the Corona Era
From our experience with the spread of the new coronavirus,

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New Breeze Spring 2021

preventative measures are being taken in all aspects of our lives,
including the field of disaster prevention and mitigation. We haveexperienced large scale storm and flood damage every year forthe past several years, so large-scale disasters are sure to occur inthe future, and we are studying how to deal with them. Thereis a wide range of information currently circulating regarding
the novel coronavirus, and there may be those who have doubts
about an expression like “Corona Era,” but here, we use it here toindicate the current state in which we do not have immunity, andlive with the possibility that the disease could spread. This applies
more broadly than to the current novel coronavirus, and could also
apply, for example, to a new influenza virus.
There are two areas of difficulty in dealing with disasters inthis Corona Era, particularly related to evacuation efforts. The
first is that infected people will evacuate to shelters, producing socalled clusters and spreading the infection. The second is that anincreasing number of people are not seeking refuge appropriately
for fear of infection and this itself is a threat to their lives. We areworking to support disaster response by providing information to
help with these issues. Interacting with the chatbot for disastermanagement can provide support by confirming disaster hazards,
checking people’s health status, and with decisions whether
evacuation is needed or not. Then, if there is suspected infection
when checking a person’s health before evacuation, SOCDA canautomatically provide information regarding suitable facilities thathave been prepared by the administration, rather than having aperson do it. For people that are considering evacuating, current
information regarding evacuation shelters can be provided in atimely manner to encourage appropriate evacuation measures, suchas whether they are crowded, or whether appropriate measures tohandle infection are being taken. Also, by presenting the optionof taking refuge in their own homes based on hazard informationsuch as where flooding is expected to occur, some will be able to
avoid the risks of evacuation shelters (enclosed spaces, crowded
conditions, close contact), and the risks of traveling to the shelter.
An example of a possible interaction with SOCDA for this sort ofapplication is shown in Figure 2.
We call evacuation to protect life, as discussed above, life
preserving evacuation, and we have discussed the potential foruse of SNS in this phase of evacuation. It is followed by a phase of
on-going life at the evacuation location, which we call “ongoing
evacuation,” and there is also strong demand for SNS in thissecond phase. The discussion above regarding life preserving
evacuation envisioned mainly storm and flood damage, but thesituation is somewhat different for earthquakes. Whichever
the case, for large scale disasters in the Corona Era, we expectthat fully dispersed evacuation will need to be planned. As
such, although in the past it was okay to provide the necessary
goods and services for ongoing evacuation, such as medical

■ Figure 2: Example of conversation on SOCDA during a disaster considering measures to prevent infection

help, centrally at designated evacuation shelters, in the Corona
Era, these must also be provided in a distributed fashion, or
each survivor will not be able to receive the support they need.
This applies not only to direct support, but is also importantfor information, and the SOCDA can be used to gather andprovide information comprehensively. This involves both (1)gathering information regarding evacuation locations (e.g. finding
non-designated or provisional shelter (hotels, etc.) locations)and whether medical treatment is needed, and (2) providing
information such as locations where supplies will be available, andproviding information necessary to preserve health in ongoing
evacuation (e.g. warnings regarding sleeping in a vehicle, etc.).
Most of these features were conceived when R&D on
the chatbot for disaster management began, but there was no
particular emphasis placed on using it to check the well-beingof survivors. In considering disaster response in the Corona Era,
this is a significant point of difference from earlier approaches.
While it is clear that there is a need to develop a chatbot that caninteractively check people’s well-being and provide appropriate
information in this way, in some cases this could involve handlingsensitive information, so various issues regarding operation andorganization will require further study, such as who will haveaccess to such collected information, and how will it be used. We
also expect that in practical terms, it will be important to havea mechanism to provide specific guidance to an online medical
service at an early stage. Discussions on these and other issues will
be conducted through the Council on Artificial Intelligence forDisaster Resilience (https://caidr.jp/), which was launched in June,
2019.

5. Conclusion
In this article, we have introduced initiatives using AI withdisaster-related information found on SNS, for disaster prevention
and mitigation. We first introduced two systems, DISAANA
and D-SUMM, which analyze disaster-related information on
Twitter. Then, we showed that information posted spontaneously
on Twitter is not adequately comprehensive, and we introduced
SOCDA, which is a chatbot for disaster management that resolves
the issue by implementing bi-directional communication on theLINE SNS. SOCDA is still under R&D, and we will continue
working to contribute to disaster prevention and mitigation,
while also incorporating features to prevent the spread of the newcoronavirus.
References
J. Mizuno, M. Tanaka, K. Ohtake, J.H. Oh, J. Kloetzer, C. Hashimoto and K. Troisawa:“WISDOM X, DISAANA and D-SUMM: Large-scale NLP Systems for Analyzing Textual
Big Data,” Proceedings of the 26 th International Conference on Computational Linguistics(COLING 2016), December, 2016.

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Continuing Evolution of Weather Radar Technology

Masakazu Wada

Chief Specialist
Defense & Electronic Systems Division
Toshiba Infrastructure Syastems & Solutions Corporation

1. Introduction
Occurrence of damage due to typhoons, linear-precipitation
zones and localized heavy rain has increased recently, and becomea new social issue. Weather radar can be effective for observing
these sorts of precipitation, spatially and temporally over wide
areas, both quantitatively and at fine intervals. Weather radar isoperated by various agencies including the Meteorological Agency,
the Water and Disaster Management Bureau of the Ministry ofLand, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), and local
governments, and is used for purposes such as managing rivers,
drainage and other social infrastructure, for weather forecasts,
and to provide information to residents. Japan’s weather radar
technology is advanced, leading the industry with features suchas solid-state transmitters and high-speed observations throughelectronic scanning. This article gives an overview of weather
radar concepts and the development of weather radar technology.

2. Precipitation observations using weather
radar
Rain gauges have long been used to understand precipitation,and the Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System(AMeDAS) operated by the Meteorological Agency takes
precipitation measurements, at approximately 840 locations
throughout Japan at roughly 21 km intervals, using tipping-bucket
rain gauges. Tipping-bucket rain gauges collect and directly
measure precipitation so they are very reliable, but they have issues
including: (1) they are only able to measure precipitation at thedevice location, (2) accuracy of instantaneous measurements suchas volume/minute is poor, and (3) precipitation amounts can beunderestimated if there is cross wind.
In contrast, weather radar observations have advantages
including (1) wide area observations ranging from tens tohundreds of km in radius, (2) instantaneous estimates of rainfall,minute-to-minute, and (3) ability to make observations ataltitude, and not just at the ground level. In the past, precipitation
estimations were not always adequate due to lack of precision andpoor maintainability, but these limitations are being removed
through new technologies such as dual-polarization observations
and solid-state transmitters.
As shown in Figure 1, weather radar transmits radio signals
into the air and then the antenna receives the back-scatter signalthat occurs when the transmitted signal hits various precipitation
particles (rain, snow, hail, etc.) suspended in the air, enabling
estimation of the state of precipitation in the air (quantity,
movement, particle type, etc.).

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■ Figure 1: Weather radar observation principles

Here we use Figure 2 to describe a feature of weather
radar: the mesh used for wide-area observations. Typically,
the observation range for X-band weather radar is a radiusof approximately 80 km, usually operating with resolution of
150 m radially, yielding data from 533 partitions for distance.
Direction is divided into 1.2° intervals, yielding 300 partitions
over the full 360°. As such, typical X-band weather radar provides
measurements at approximately 160,000 points in real time.
Characteristics of the data are somewhat different, but in simple
terms, a single weather radar installation gives effectively the same
results as 160,000 rain gauges deployed over the area.
■ Figure 2: Typical observation mesh for X-band weatherradar3. Development of weather radar technology
3.1

History of weather radar technology
When weather radar was first introduced, large amounts ofquantitative observations were not immediately available. The
history of the development of weather radar technology is shownin Figure 3.
Initial weather radar sets were analog devices that used a
self-excited oscillating electron tube called a magnetron as thetransmitter, projected the output signal from the receiver on a
black-and-white afterglow display, and indicated rain intensity
by brightness. A sketch of this was then made in a darkened
room. Later, with the development of digital technology, systems
became more stable, high-speed processing became possible, andweather radar capable of quantitative precipitation observations
was developed.
In the 1990s, Doppler radar was developed, capable ofobserving both precipitation intensity and air flow (estimating
wind from phase of the reflected signals). From this time, anamplifying device called klystrons came into mainstream use,
enabling stable handling of phase information.
Most types of radar to this point used radio transceivers of
only one polarization (generally horizontal), but at almost thesame time as Doppler radar was developed, dual-polarization
radar, with both horizontal and vertical polarizations, was also
implemented. This enabled collection of more information
regarding precipitation particles. Observations made using
both Doppler and dual-polarization are called multi-parameter

observations. Entering the 2000s, radar integrating both Doppler
radar and dual-polarizing radar, or true multi-parameter (MP)radar, became practical.
Around this time Japan took the lead in weather radar
technology around the world. One factor contributing to thiswas the development of solid-state transmitters. This wasachieved by integrating multiple stages of high-output microwave
semiconductors to achieve the transmission power needed forweather radar, successfully transitioning away from the magnetron
and klystron electron tube devices (Figure 4). In 2012, phasedarray weather radar (horizontal polarization type) was developed,
capable of high-speed 3D observations in multiple directions at
the same time, and in 2017, multi-parameter phased array weather
radar with a dual polarization signal function was developed.
■ Figure 4: C-band solid-state multi-parameter weather
radar■ Figure 3: H istory of weather radar technology

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11

3.2 Multi-parameter observations
Weather radar with a multi-parameter observation function
transmits and receives two linear-polarization signals (horizontal
and vertical) (Figure 5). As the precipitation particles becomelarger, they flatten in the horizontal direction due to air resistance(Figure 5). With earlier, non-multi-parameter radar, precipitation
volume was estimated from the received intensity of thehorizontally polarized signal only, so for the same amount of rain,
the volume was over-estimated if the drops were large, and underestimated if the drops were small, as with light rain.
With multi-parameter radar, both intensity and phase for bothhorizontally and vertically polarized signals can be measured, andthese can be combined to derive various parameters.
The “Specific Differential Phase” (KDP) parameter inparticular, has come into broad use to increase the accuracy ofquantitative precipitation observations. Radio waves propagating
through water travel slower than they do in air. As raindrops getlarger, they tend to flatten horizontally, so when radio waves travel
through rain, the phase of horizontally polarized signals tend to bedelayed relative to vertically polarized signals. Taking the ratio of
this phase delay to the rain quantity, regardless of raindrop size, isthe principle behind estimation of rain volume using KDP.
Other parameters can also be derived at the same time,
including polarization parameters: inter-polarization correlation
coefficient (ρHV) and differential radar ref lectivity (ZDR);
and parameters similar to regular Doppler weather radar: theradar reflectivity factor (Zh), Doppler velocity (V), and Doppler
velocity width (W). These parameters help increase the accuracyof precipitation quantity, but are also used in analysis such as
particle classification (whether particles are rain, snow, hail, etc.)
and determining cloud type (stratification, convectional).

4. M
 ulti-parameter phased array weather
radar

Under the direction of a Cabinet Office SIP＊1, MultiParameter Phased Array Weather Radar (MP-PAWR＊2) has
been developed (Figure 6), realizing high-density, highly-accurate,and high speed observations. This radar is installed at Saitama
University, and is currently undergoing verification tests for real
operation.
■ Figure 6: Multi-parameter phased array weather radar
equipment (left) and observation range (right)

We now describe the features of MP-PAWR, touching on
the differences between MP-PAWR and conventional parabolicantenna radar. For 3D observations with conventional radar,plan position indicator (PPI) scans are performed, graduallychanging the angle of elevation for radar observations. This cantake from five to ten minutes to complete. There are also areas
spatially between consecutive scans where observations cannot be
made. On the other hand, with MP-PAWR, the scan of antenna
direction is driven mechanically as with conventional radar, but■ Figure 5: Dual-polarization radar observation mechanisms＊1 SIP: Cross-ministerial strategic innovation promotion program＊2 MP-PAWR: Multi-Parameter Phased-Array Weather Radar

12

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scanning in the vertical direction (altitude) is done electronically.
This enables rapid and dense observations of 3D space up to an
altitude of approximately 15 km, and requires only 30 seconds toone minute to complete (Figure 7).
Figure 8 shows the results from observations over a 30 sinterval, a radius of 60 km and at altitudes up to 15 km. With
MP-PAWR, this sort of 3D observation of rainfall distribution
can be made every 30 seconds to one minute.
Figure 9 shows how features of MP-PAWR can be used.
Various stages of the rapid increase in river water levels after
a sudden heavy downpour are represented conceptually as“Raincloud appearance,” “Rapid raincloud growth,” “Rainfall,”and “Water level rise.” MP-PAWR is able to observe rainfall
amounts in the air at high speed, so during the “rapid raincloud
growth” stage before the rain reaches the ground, rainfall canbe detected at dense spacing, before it reaches the ground. By
computing rainfall in the air based on MP-PAWR observation
data detected at this stage, using it as input to predict rainfall
amounts, and then to predict water levels, it should be possible
in principle to provide this information earlier than withconventional methods.
This approach is comparable to that of emergency earthquake
bulletins. For emergency earthquake bulletins, earthquakes aredetected, having already occurred at the epicenter, and bulletinsare distributed to areas predicted to receive tremors several seconds
before they arrive. This information is used to control a range
of infrastructure automatically, such as pushing notifications
to mobile phones, reducing speed on bullet trains to prevent
derailments, and stopping elevators at the nearest floor to prevent
people getting trapped.

■ Figure 7: C omparison of conventional radar and
MP-PAWR antenna scanning methods■ Figure 8: P
 recipitation observations from MP-PAWR(Aug. 27, 2018)■ Figure 9: Rainfall and water-level prediction with MP-PAWR

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13

■ Figure 10: U
 tilization of MP-PAWR for emergency heavy-rainfall bulletins

Similarly, emergency heavy-rain bulletins through MPPAWR could be used to detect and notify of heavy rain that has
already occurred in the air, minutes before it reaches the ground.
Specific examples are shown in Figure 10, including disasterprevention measures such as automatically starting drainage
pumps and stopping entry to roadway underpasses, but also
convenience measures such as predicting congestion for car
navigation systems.

Cover Art

5. Conclusion
Japan experiences many damage-causing natural disasters
including earthquakes, volcanoes, heavy rain and gusty wind, andsudden heavy rain is one such phenomenon that causes damage
in society. Reports of conditions made using weather radar anddistributed nationally have long been helpful in reducing damage
from sudden heavy rain storms.
In the future, we hope to contribute to realizing a safer, moresecure society with automatically controlled infrastructure by
combining MP-PAWR 3D observations of precipitation before it
even reaches the ground, with other technologies such as AI andIoT.

Evening at Takanawa (Takanawa no
yukei)
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797~1858)
Collection of the Art Research Center (ARC)
Ritsumeikan University
Object number: BN03828992-1-05¯

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= A Serial Introduction Part 1 =Winners of ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards 2020
In May every year, The ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ) proudly presents ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards to people who have madeoutstanding contributions in the field of international standardization and have helped in the ongoing development of ICT.
These Awards are also an embodiment of our sincere desire to encourage further contributions from these individuals in the future.
If you happen to run into these winners at another meeting in the future, please say hello to them.
But first, as part of the introductory series of Award Winners, allow us to introduce some of those remarkable winners.

NTT DOCOMO, INC.

Hiroshi Ishikawa

https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/
Fields of activity: 3GPP Core Network Standardization,

GSMA Network Group Activities

IMS and 5G Standardization Activities in 3GPP and GSMA
It is a great honor to receive the ITU-AJ Encouragement
Award, and I would like to take this opportunity to thankeveryone that has supported me, leading to this great award.
One of my first standardization activities was at 3GPP in2006, introducing Domain Specific Access Control, which allows
independent access control for 3G CS and PS domains. I waslater involved with IMS and have contributed to “Common
IMS,” which became the foundation for next generation
telecommunication services used by multiple access, including
fixed access.
In 2017, I joined 5G standardization activities. In order toroll out 5G in the market as fast as possible, Non Stand Alone(NSA) was standardized first, using existing EPC and supporting
enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB). At the same time, Stand
Alone (SA) has also been standardized using a new core network
known as 5GC, in order to support valuable features beyond
those provided by eMBB. I contributed to enhancements required
in both core networks to provide improved features and user

Wataru Ishidaexperience compared with the previous system.
I also participated in activities at GSMA dealing withroaming for both 4G and 5G. These included activities tofacilitate VoLTE roaming, promoting faster migration from
2G/3G voice roaming, and activities to create new profiles for 5G
roaming. While 3GPP defines the features, GSMA defines sets ofprofiles for its usage, which is important for network operators inrolling out commercial services.
In all of these activities, I believe having active discussions
with many delegations, both online and offline, was importantto have deeper understanding and contribution to the standards.
With networks expected to evolve to 5G, standardizing further
5G network features and methods for migration from legacy
networks will be key requirements. I would like to continue
to contribute to these activities together with the many otherexperienced delegates, from both technical and user requirements
perspectives, to help evolve the market.

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE EAST CORPORATION
https://www.ntt-east.co.jp/en/
Fields of activity: ICT development

International Collaboration through APT activities
It is a great honor for me to receive the Encouragement Award
from the ITU Association of Japan. I’d like to express my sincere
gratitude to all those involved in the ITU-AJ as well as to mysupervisors, seniors and colleagues at NTT and NTT East, andthe trainees and project members from various countries. In
the Global Office of NTT East, I was engaged in international
cooperation through the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT),
JICA, and NTT Vietnam (currently NTT e-Asia).
For APT, I engaged in the planning and management of
human resource development training, international collaborative
research, and pilot projects using special contributions from theJapanese government.
In APT training, I planned and managed training courses forpolicy makers and engineers in the Asia-Pacific region, mainly on
broadband, NGN, and e-government, in cooperation with various
companies and institutions.
In APT collaborative research, we collaborated with theAdvanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) in thePhilippines and other institutions, conducting proof-of-concept
studies such as for agricultural sensing networks in rural areas andinvestigating and analyzing the correlation between air pollution
and traffic volume and flow in Metro Manila.

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15

For APT pilot projects, we carried out a project to build
an Internet connection and educational content distribution
environment in Indonesia in collaboration with several universities
and research institutions in Japan, connecting a city hall,several junior high schools, high schools, universities, and local
telecenters.
I hope that results from these efforts will become use cases
contributing to solving issues in ICT development, especially in

Noriyuki Inoue

rural areas.
I am currently involved in regional development incollaboration with local governments, local financial institutions,and venture companies, and I am working on designing andbuilding a smart city that will enhance convenience for local
residents and tourists, utilizing advanced technologies such as
AI and IoT. I would like to continue to work to improve living
standards in developing countries, making use of these efforts.

KDDI CORPORATION
http://www.kddi.com/english/
Fields of activity: S pectrum and Radio Regulation

Activity toward reaching a resolution in WRC-19
It was completely unexpected, but I am very happy to receive
this ITU Association of Japan Encouragement Award at thistime. I would like to offer sincere thanks to everyone at the ITU
Association of Japan and everyone in the Japan delegation to
APG-19 and WRC-19, from MIC and other organizations, fortheir guidance and encouragement.
Before participating in WRC-19 as the Japan delegation, I had
no idea what sort of assembly the WRC was. I heard from senior
members that they competed over frequencies, conflicts of interest
occurred, and meetings could continue all night, not reaching adecision until the participants had reached their physical limits.
I was given the role of APT coordinator, involving a WRC issue
that was considered difficult to reach agreement. Two groups were
sharply opposed: one wanting to protect terrestrial business andthe other attacking to promote satellite business. As such, to avoid
being physically overcome, I paid careful attention to my healthas I entered Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, where WRC-19 was being
held.

Suguru Okuyama

As the APT coordinator, I was promoting APT proposals
created through APG, but many countries have different
perspectives on APT. At WRC-19, I could not even get a
consistent approval from the various Asian countries, though
I would have expected them to be amenable, so at times I felt
isolated and helpless. Even so, I had off-line talks with country
representatives that had objections, and sought advice from theAPG-19 chairperson and others, and was able to get cooperation
on APT, to reach a resolution on this issue that was causing somuch concern. Fortunately, it did not come down to battle ofphysical limits.
WRC-19 came to an end, and unexpectedly, I wasrecommended for chairperson of the Drafting Group for issues in
APG-23, leading up to WRC-23. I will take this recognition fromthe ITU Association of Japan as encouragement, and continue
studying and contributing to discussion and creating resolutions at
APG and WRC.

NTT DOCOMO, INC.
https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/
Fields of activity: Mobile communication

Open Interface Standardization Activities at the O-RAN Alliance
I am very honored to receive this Encouragement Award fromthe ITU Association of Japan. I would like to offer sincere thanks
to the ITU Association of Japan and everyone that has given theirguidance and encouragement.
O-RAN was established in February, 2018 by five mobile
operators: AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, NTT
DOCOMO and Orange. The objective was to make Radio
Access Networks (RANs) including 5G more extensible, open andintelligent. Today, 230 companies around the world, including 27

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New Breeze Spring 2021

operators have joined O-RAN (as of January, 2021).
NTT DOCOMO’s 5G network, which began commercial
services in March 2020, uses equipment compliant with the
O-RAN open front-haul (FH) interface specification, andits biggest feature is that it enables interconnectivity between
equipment from different vendors. Previously FH interfaces havegenerally been vender-specific, O-RAN specifies detailed andcomprehensive specifications which enable connections between
equipment from different vendors.

O-RAN had participation from more operators and vendors
than its xRAN predecessors, so there were companies expressing
caution and doubt about feasibility of multi-vendor connectivity
in an early discussion phase. I worked tenaciously, repeatedly
advocating for the value, feasibility and merits of the effort toboth operators and vendors, speaking from NTT DOCOMO’s

Hirokazu Kamoda

experience with multi-vendor connectivity. I also listened toopinions from other companies and led the discussion using
my skill and experience summarizing and guiding the various
opinions at 3GPP. As a result, my O-RAN colleagues and I wereable to publish the first O-RAN FH interfaces specification in
March, 2019.

Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hoso Kyokai)
https://www.nhk.or.jp/corporateinfo/
Fields of activity: Broadcast Auxiliary Services

Activities related to broadcast auxiliary services
It is an honor to receive this ITU-AJ Encouragement Award. I
express my sincere gratitude to the ITU Association of Japan andall those who have given me guidance and encouragement.
I have been acting as a member of the Japan delegation to
ITU-R WP5C since 2016, contributing to WP5C mainly on two
issues. The first relates to 42-GHz-band wireless systems used inbroadcast auxiliary services. This wireless system enables reliable
contribution links to be established quickly for HDTV and 4K/8K
broadcasting, where neither wired nor wireless communicationmeans exist. I contributed to adding parameters for this system
to the recommendation for frequency sharing studies (F.1777).
At a time when the frequency identification for IMT-2020 (5G)
was taking place, these parameters provided timely input andcontributed to the study of frequency sharing.
The other issue concerns WRC-19 Agenda Item 1.14,
regarding High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS). The
6-GHz band is one of the frequency bands assigned to HAPS
and has a regional restriction. WP5C was conducting sharing

Hiroyuki Saito

and compatibility studies to remove the restriction. The 6-GHzband is also used by wireless systems used for live broadcasts
and emergency reporting. To examine whether the HAPS
interferes with existing fixed wireless systems in Japan, we
examined whether the HAPS proponents' sharing conditions wereappropriate. I proposed modifying the conditions in considerationof fixed wireless systems in Japan. At the WP5C meeting, I
struggled to gain acceptance for our proposal, but it was not
accepted. However, through constant negotiations, the parties
concerned were able to compromise and agree on a value that
could effectively protect the fixed systems. Finally, it was reflected
in a new report (F.2437) and the CPM document. I hope both
HAPS and existing systems will coexist and develop in betterways.
Through these activities, I was able to experience international
negotiations firsthand and learn a lot. I will continue to makeefforts to contribute to the effective use of radio waves.

Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
https://www.oki.com/
Fields of activity: SG13, SG15

Lessons learned in standardization activities at ITU-T SG13 and SG15
I am very thankful to be receiving this Encouragement Award
from the ITU Association of Japan at this time. I consider it
yet another gift from everyone who has given their support andcooperation, and I have many to thank.
Through much deliberation on network virtualization andslicing in SG13 and SG15 since 2018, a recommendation was
created from our proposed work item in March, 2019 (Y.3151).
One important lesson learned through standardization
activities is to discuss issues with delegates from other countries,
while understanding and respecting their perspectives. Sometimes

I talked with participants from other countries over lunch about
topics other than standardization, building good relationships,
and this then helped our discussions proceed smoothly. I felt
strongly that gaining broad knowledge and education from a
global perspective is both interesting and important for crosscultural communication.
I hope to continue contributing to internationa lstandardization activities, participating in deliberation whilebuilding good relationships with attendees and others from various
countries.

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17

通巻百三十号

定価一冊一、六五〇円 （本体価格 一、五〇〇円、消費税 一五〇円） 年間購読料

The ITU Association of Japan六、六〇〇円 （本体価格 六、〇〇〇円、消費税 六〇〇円）