NII ESSAY

The true valueof researchers is
now being held
accountable after
the Great East Japan
Earthquake in 2011

The Great East Japan Earthquake took place on March 11, 2011. While I offer
my deepest sympathies to those who have suffered or continue to suffer from thisdisaster, I pray that the day when we can see the future comes not a moment toosoon. Even though I was personally not directly affected by the disaster, I harbora huge sense of shock, even now, and I feel that the world before 3/11 was in thedistant past. The earthquake has confronted me anew with the question, “Whatam I researching for?” How will the new knowledge gained during the lastearthquake be effectively used in Japan, now said to be in a period of higher
seismic activity? Amid an outlook of electricity shortages for a prolonged period,
how should the electricity for research equipment be effectively used?
Furthermore, how can we reform Japan in the aftermath of 3/11? We havearrived at a time when Japan’s researchers are being held accountable for theirtrue value.

The difficulty of prompt action in the early stages

Asanobu Kitamoto
Associate Professor, Digital Contentand Media Sciences Research Division, NII

On the day the big earthquake struck, I spent the entire night in a conferencebuilding, being one of those people who couldn’t make it home. Information had
already become chaotic, and I was overwhelmed by the massive amount of
information being circulated. However, data management in times ofemergencies was part of my research projects. In order to exploit researchfindings to fit to the emergency situation unfolding before my eyes, I went in
rapid-reaction mode and started to engage in information gathering.
Earthquakes, tsunamis, and then the nuclear accident: The real world wasundergoing rapid changes.
In hindsight, the thing that gave me an acute sense was the fact there was nochoice but to use the knowledge and tools on hand to their fullest extent duringthat early stage. Procuring knowledge and creating useful tools in reaction to thevery real events cannot catch up on the rapid change of reality. I will summarize
the lessons learned from the earthquake and its aftermath so that our knowledge
and tools can be instantly deployed in times of emergencies. I believe this is whatneeds to be done as a precaution for the next disaster.

Let’s share researchers’ knowledge
as we look toward recovery
The long-term recovery efforts are currently fully underway. However, there
was an immense number of assorted problems created by this large-scale disaster,and there are multiple and multifaceted issues surrounding them. Researchers
from numerous disciplines need to come together, leverage the expertise of theirown, and share their wisdom to provide solutions. The specialized knowledge
provided by only a single researcher has its limits if we look at the immense scaleof the problems. We need to come up with new solutions after marshalling ourefforts, based on the common objective of solving the problems.
The Great East Japan Earthquake is without a doubt a rare large-scale natural
disaster in Japan’s history, although there is also the aspect that numerous
instances of inaction led to a great extent of the damage. I hope that this inaction
is not repeated and that a large number of researchers actively strive to resolve
the problems resulting from the Great East Japan Earthquake so that society’s
trust in research will be enhanced.

Weaving Information into Knowledge

English language edition NII TodayNII Today No.38, July 2011 [ Thiscorresponds to No. 52 of the Japanese edition ]Cover illustration

Published by National Institute of Informatics, Research Organization of Information and Systems
http://www.nii.ac.jp/Address: National Center of Sciences
2-1-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8430
Chief editor: Yoh’ichi Tohkura Cover illustration: Makoto Komori Photography: Shuichi Yuri
Design: GRiD Production: Nihon Printing Co., LTD.

SINET3, which was used widely as a platform
to support academic research, was reborn onApril 2011 as “SINET4.” The new SINET4 has
become a faster and more stable network
and it offers a full range of services. What ismore, the recent Great East Japan Earthquake
was a testament to its ability to endure
disasters.

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