Volume 2, Number 5, February 2005

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON TSUNAMI DISASTER
MITIGATION and INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON TSUNAMIDISASTER MITIGATION IN THE FUTURE, KOBE 2005
The International Workshop on Tsunami Disaster Mitigation was held on January 17, 2005, inKobe, Japan, organized by Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI). The Workshop wasfollowed by the International Symposium on Tsunami Disaster Mitigation in the Future under theauspices of Ports and Harbors Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) andPARI. The workshop and symposium was organized by the Task Committee on Storm Surge andTsunamis under the UJNR Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects. Over 200 people including themedia attended each event.
In the workshop, the urgent field surveys on the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami were reported andthe state-of-arts of research and technologies on tsunami disaster mitigation were presented.
Symposium discussions centered on tsunami disaster mitigation in the future. Recommendations
from the Workshop and Symposium include:
1.
Tsunami resilient communities need to be created with development ofcountermeasure menus on disaster mitigation.
2.
A multi-disciplinary workshop should be held to develop the steps required to build atsunami resilient community. The disciplines should include the cultural, social, economic,engineering, and other fields involved in reducing the impact of tsunamis on coastal
communities.
3.
December 26 should be identified as "International Tsunami Awareness Day."
Contact: Dr. Takashi Tomita, Head of Storm Surge and Tsunami Division, Marine Environment
and Engineering Department, Port and Airport Research Institute. tomita@pari.go.jp

Figure 1. Speakers and Panelists of International Tsunami Symposium

INAUGURATION OF E-DEFENCE
Based on the lessons from Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the National Research Institute of Earth
Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED) constructed the world’s largest shaking table facility,
known as E-Defense. The Hyogo Earthquake Engineering Research Center was established on
1 October 2004, to manage research projects using E-Defense and to operate and maintain thefacility.
Experimentation plays an important role in the assessment of accuracies of damage andcollapse predictions, validation of the effectiveness of retrofit techniques, and verification of new
design and construction methods for enhanced capacity. E-Defense has the unique capacity toexperiment with life-size buildings and infrastructural systems in real earthquake conditions, andstands as a tool of ultimate verification. E-Defense should help expedite the transfer of various
research outputs into the practice of earthquake disaster mitigation.
Because of its unique function to serve as a tool of ultimate verification, many countries andregions that also have strong mission of earthquake disaster mitigation have expressed interestin E-Defense; various collaborative efforts are being discussed. In particular, the Ministry ofEducation, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXY) of Japan and the National ScienceFoundation (NSF) of the United State are negotiating an overall agreement on researchcollaboration between the earthquake engineering communities in the two countries. Under thisscope, NIED and NEES Consortium Inc. (NEESinc), an organization that operates the integrated
facilities on earthquake engineering in the US, are discussing an agreement on solid andlong-term research collaboration and a new U.S.-Japan program jointly using E-Defense andNEES facilities.
NIED held its Inauguration Ceremony and Symposium on 15-16 January 2005 just prior to the10th anniversary of Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. More than 250 persons participated. Six
Professors from Mexico, Turkey, USA, China and Japan made the invitation lectures relating withthe future collaboration using E-Defense.
Contact: Mr. Keiichi OHTANI, Technical Advisor, National Research Institute for Earth Scienceand Disaster Prevention (NIED), ohtani@bosai.go.jp

Figure 2. Inauguration Ceremony of E-Defense, 15 January 2005