IISEE Newsletter
Mar 31, 2023
Number 214

In This Issue• The 2022 Global
SeismologicalObservation Training
Course Closed• Closing Ceremony
Speech on behalf of
the Global
SeismologicalObservation Course
Participants• Seismic Noise
Survey at Mt.
Tsukuba (February9)• Reports on Study
Trip -Global
SeismologicalObservation Course• Visit to Geospatial
Information
Authority of Japan(January 25)• Visit to National
Research Institutefor Earth Scienceand Disaster
Resilience (February10)• Research Paper byDr. Hayashida et al.
Online inGeophysical JournalInternationalInternational Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering BRI Japan1 Tachihara Tsukuba Japan 305-0802

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The 2022 Global Seismological Observation
Training Course Closed
By Mr. Takahiro Yamada, Head of Administration Division, IISEEThe 2022 Global Seismology Observation course which started onJanuary 10th, 2023 was closed on Friday, March 3th, 2023. At thegraduation ceremony held by JICA Tsukuba, all the 8 participantsfrom Algeria, Namibia, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Samoa, Vanuatu
received the certificates from Ms. Mutsuyoshi, Director general ofJapan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tsukuba and Dr.
Fukuyama, the president of Building Research Institute (BRI). Mr.
Oualid from Algeria representing the participants expressedgratitude to them with his speech.
Although the training period was about two months, the participants
were able to acquire the knowledge of the role of seismology in theComprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)
regime and the International Monitoring System (IMS). They alsostudied global seismological observation technologies formonitoring nuclear tests and earthquakes and acquired data
analytical techniques to differentiate nuclear tests from natural
earthquakes, which we believe are useful in analyzing natural
earthquakes in their own countries.
They also had the opportunity to experience the reality of theatomic bombing by visiting Hiroshima, where they visited theAtomic Bomb Dome and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum andlistened to a lecture on the A-bomb experience.
We hope that the participants will share with many people in theirhome countries, what they’ve learned in Japan. We wish them thebest of success in the future.

Ms. Emiko MUTSUYOSHI,
Deputy Director General,
Tsukuba Center, JICA

Dr. You FUKUYAMA,
Vice President of BRI

Mr. Yushi KUBO,
Secretary of MOFA

Mr. BOULAHIA Oualid
from Algeria

Receiving the Certificate

Receiving the Certificate

IISEE Net andTraining
Synopsis Database
Bulletin Database
IISEE E-learning
IISEENETIISEE-UNESCO Lecture
NoteGroup PhotoClosing Ceremony Speech on behalf of the Global
Seismological Observation Course Participants
By Oualid BOULAHIA (Algeria)
Ms. Emiko MUTSUYOSHI, Director General, Tsukuba Center, Japan
International Cooperation Agency
Dr. Hiroshi FUKUYAMA, Vice President of Building ResearchInstitute
Mr. Yuji KUBO, Arms Control and Disarmament Division,Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department, Ministryof Foreign Affairs of Japan

Earthquakes
Reports of Recent
Earthquakes
Utsu Catalog
Earthquake Catalog

Dear honorable assistant, Sensei, teachers, mentors, and fellow
participants, Morning greetings.
As we come to the end of this training course, I have the honor ofaddressing this distinguished audience and thanking them forgiving us a chance to participate in such a formative educational
experience. It has been a privilege for us to learn, not only frombut with you all.
Honorable guests, allow me to first express, on behalf of myself
and my fellow participants, our sincere gratitude to :• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan ;• The Japan International Cooperation Agency ;• The Building Research Institute ;• The International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake
Engineering ;• The Japan Meteorological Agency ;• The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization ;• and all other organizations that have contributed in any way
be it big or small, to make this training course possible,
useful, and enjoyable.
Ladies and Gentlemen, more than 280 participants from all overthe world have taken part in this training course since its
establishment in 1995. This year, there have been eightparticipants from seven different countries. On behalf of all theparticipants in the 27th Knowledge Co-Creation Program on Global
Seismological Observation, I pay tribute to our Sensei, who areamongst the most knowledgeable professors and experts in thefield of seismology, not only in Japan but throughout the world.
Their dedication, their expertise, and their enthusiasm serve as anexample to us all. Their unyielding guidance has made thistraining course a meaningful and engaging learning experience.
Over the past two months, we have been able to enhance ourunderstanding of seismology and gain new insights which haveallowed us to discriminate nuclear tests from earthquakes. We
have been able to participate in discussions and activities that

have played a fundamental role in broadening our perspective. We
return to our home countries and respective institutions secure in
the knowledge that we have the skills necessary to make apositive impact. We are extremely grateful for the field trips,
which have not only helped us further our understanding of theimpact of both natural and man-made catastrophes but have also
given us the tools to mitigate or prevent damage that might occur
in the future.
As an added bonus to our trip, we discovered the wonderful
Japanese culture and saw first-hand how innovative the Japanesepeople really are. The town of Kyoto, Kinkaku-ji Temple, MountFuji, Mount Tsukuba, the Shinkansen bullet train, as well as Keiko
Ogura-san, a bomb survivor, will stay imprinted in our minds
forever.
As I reiterate our appreciation to our Sensei and the rest of theBRI staff, I'd like to thank Sakuma-san for her unyielding support
in both our indoor and outdoor activities; we'll never forget you.
Ladies and gentlemen, in closing, I feel justified in saying that theJICA Tsukuba Center / BRI and IISEE have been far more to us
than an institute of learning. It has been, for these past twomonths, a home where a sense of family and friendship was
nurtured into the strong ties of today … ties that would never havebeen created without this program. I express my sincere wish that
we remain close and that we continue to collaborate on ourrespective projects. I speak for both myself and my fellow
participants when I say that we will miss this family and thebeauty of this exquisite country, Japan.
Thank you so much !!! Dōmo Arigatō Gozaimasu !!! and in theArabic language, "Shukran Jazilan Lakom.

Seismic Noise Survey at Mt. Tsukuba (February 9)
By Dr. Takumi Hayashida, Senior Research Scientist, IISEE
Mt. Tsukuba, located about 10km north of BRI, is one ofJapan's 100 famousmountains. The mountain iscomposed of hard rocks and islocated away from urban
areas with high cultural
seismic noise, making it asuitable site for seismic
observation. On February 9,
Global Seismological Observation Course participants practiced
seismic noise measurement at Mt. Tsukuba.
The plum blossoms began to bloom, and it was a perfect day forthe survey with a sense of spring coming.

Reports on Study Trip -Global SeismologicalObservation CourseBy ACHEMINE Yasmine (Algeria)

Enjoy, Now

Day one:We started the trip on Thursday, 2nd of February 2023 at TBIC andheaded by bus straight to the capital Tokyo for a lecture held by
Toyomi Sakamoto Sensei at the Japan Weather Association (JMA)
titled “introduction of CTBT Regime Concerning Seismology inJapan and NDC” where we learned about the different
organizations that work to prevent nuclear bomb testing and therelationships between them. We also learned about the various
activities conducted at JMA and the tools used to do so. After ashort visit in the headquarters, we made our way to the train

Children's Peace Monument – ‘This is our cry. This is ourprayer. For building peace in this world’station for three hours and half ride to Hiroshima by Shinkansen
Nozomi train.

Day two:As planned, we gathered at 8:15 am to take the bus to our firstdestination of the day; Hiroshima peace memorial where we got to
see the Atomic Bomb Dome. It's the only remaining structure in
the area where the first atomic bomb went off on August 6, 1945
and thanks to the efforts of the city of Hiroshima, it wasmaintained in the same condition as immediately after thebombing. The iconic story of Sadako Sasaki that inspired thebuilding of the Children’s Peace Monument is devastatingly andheart-breaking. After that, we were honored to attend a lecture byKeiko Ogura who is a survivor of the Hiroshima atom bomb. She isContact Us
the epiphany of hope, determination and strength. Her story isThe IISEE Newsletter is overwhelming, and one can never imagine the horrors that she
intended to act as a go- lived through during and after the bombing. I had tears in mybetween for IISEE andeyes when she pleaded with us to carry out her message and theex-participants.
whole time I remember thinking ‘no-one deserves to go throughWe encourage you tothis’. Finally, we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
contribute a report andwhere we got to see pictures and read about all the stories Oguraan article to this newssan told us. It is true that it takes a few seconds for a nuclear
letter. Please let us
bomb to explode, but the consequences last for years spanningknow your current
activities in youracross generations.
countries.
At mid-day, we got on the road to Awaji Island for a guided tour
We also welcome yourof the Nojima Fault Preservation Museum. There, we clearly
co-workers and friends observed the distorted surface of the ground caused by theto register our mailing
Southern Hyogo Earthquake of January 17th, 1995. The results oflist.
the seismic shock made me think about how suddenly a naturaliiseenews@kenken.go.jp
catastrophe can occur that will, in seconds, cause the loss of manyhttps://iisee.kenken.go.jp lives, so the best way to prevent this is to be prepared. After the/en/
visit, we took the bus to Kyoto for the night.
Day three:In the morning, we went to Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) after abus tour of the city’s famous monuments. The temple is gorgeouswith its preserved architecture and golden walls that reflect thesun rays. The vast gardens and ponds inspire serenity and peace
where interesting new things can be seen at every corner. Afterlunch, we took leave and returned to TBIC Tsukuba by Shinkansen
Back Numbers Nozomi train.
https://iisee.kenken.go.jp/en/newsletter/

By CHAN KUM TONG Darcy Luuga Naivins (Samoa)
Introduction to CTBT Regime by Toyomi SakamotoI attended a lecture on Instrumentation and Observation ofseismic activities in Japan. I was introduced to the history of
nuclear explosions relationship between CTBT and NDC. The tasks
and responsibilities of Japan’s NDC-1 were also clearly explained

with various new technologies used in each of the monitoringstations.
Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
It was a pleasure and honor to visit one of themost famous and iconic Museums in the world, andI know not many people have had the chance tosee and witness the ruins of the Hiroshima A-Bombexplosion. I could not find the exact words toexpress my emotions towards the chaos and evilthat seems to linger on in this exact place, but myprayers for their souls to find peace. Witnessing
inside the museum was more into depth of the tragic event, I
could not stay in for long. I hope and pray that the flame burning
outside of the park will go out soon as of nuclear technology
because I know that it can be used in useful ways aside fromweapons.
Talk by Ogura-san, an A-Bomb survivor.
Highest privilege and honor to meet one of the survivors, and I
have so much respect for respected Madam Ogura-san.
Experiencing this kind of chaos and pain in such a young age
takes a lot of courage and mental strength to share and baretestimony of everything that happened during the A-Bombexplosion. It was almost as if I was there during the explosion,
but I could not fit her shoes and have the strength to carry theburden and pain she had been through. During our lecture, it wasvery hard for me to make eye contact with her when she wassharing her experience when I walked over asking for a picture, I
even had to sit beneath her feet when a photo was taken for in
our culture, this action depicts so much respect and love. I cansay that it was an experience of a lifetime for me to bear witnessof the testimony being shared by one of the survivors of the mosttragic event I grew up with only theoretical knowledge of. I hopeand pray the world will be a better place in years to come and not
repeat the evil that the past holds. For this madness is not of thisworld.
Nojima Fault Visit
This was my first time to ever witness and experience aReverse – Strike slip fault and Right-lateral Reverse - fault in real
life, and it was such an amazing experience to understand how
some natural phenomena can work wonders in the natural world.
Looking above the mountains from the museum it gave anunderstanding about how the level of the earth has elevatedthrough time with respect to the Reverse - Strike slip fault, asmentioned before. I only had theoretical understanding about
faults’ properties and details.

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)
Visiting the Kinkakuji Zen temple was a breathtaking
experience witnessing it from across the pond. A peaceful place toreconnect with nature and meditation. Built to reflect theKitayama culture and development during the Yoshimitsu times. A
beautiful of place for tourist, and I had the honor of visiting during
our trip.

Group Photo

Visit to Geospatial Information Authority of Japan(January 25)
By Dr. Hiroto Nakagawa, Senior Research Engineer, IISEE
Fourteen participants visitedthe Geospatial Information
Authority of Japan (GSI) on
January 25th. First, two
lecturers from GSI gave
lectures on GSI’s activities
related to Global Navigation
Satellite System (GNSS) andInterferometric Synthetic
Aperture Radar (InSAR).
Then, other GSI staff introduced an outline of the main building ofGSI with a seismic isolation system installed in 2010. The
participants observed the seismic isolation system. After that, theparticipants visited the Science Museum of Map and Survey tolearn about the history, principles, and new technologies of mapand surveying technologies. During the visit to GSI, theparticipants had significant interests and active discussions.

Visit to National Research Institute for Earth
Science and Disaster Resilience (February 10)
By Dr. Mai Ito, Senior Research Engineer, IISEE
Fourteen participants visited
National Research Institutefor Earth Science andDisaster Resilience (NIED) onFebruary 10th. First, they
watched an introductory
video of NIED, then observed
the Large-scale Earthquake
Simulator. In the online
lectures, a lecturer
introduced research activities of the Network Center for
Earthquake, Tsunami and Volcano ,and the Monitoring of Waves
on Land and Seafloor (MOWLAS) that observes
earthquakes/tsunamis/volcanoes covering all land and sea inJapan. The other lecturer from the Earthquake Disaster Mitigation
Research Division gave the lecture on their research activities
related to evaluation of seismic performance and functionality ofstructures based on the shaking table tests conducted by theThree-Dimensional Full-Scale Earthquake Testing Facility (EDefense). The participants’ high interests made active
discussions.

Research Paper by Dr. Hayashida et al. Online inGeophysical Journal International
By Dr. Takumi Hayashida, Senior Research Scientist, IISEE
Vs30, the average S-wave velocity in the upper 30 m from theground surface, is widely used to indicate ground-motion
amplification. One way of the on-site Vs30 estimation is toconduct a microtremor survey. A research team of Dr. Hayashida(IISEE Senior Research Scientist), Dr. Yokoi (IISEE Visiting
Research Fellow), and two former Seismology Course participants
developed a new approach to estimate Vs30 quickly with minimal
data processing without the influence of analysts or software. A
part of this content was presented at last year's IISEE seminar.
Anyone interested in applying the methodology is welcome tocontact the first author.
The paper can be accessed free of charge at the link below.
https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggad006