## ☐ Addressing urban heat-island issues

Pursuant to the Outline of Measures against Urban Heart Island Effect (March 2004), established with the aims of reducing artificial exhaust heat, improving surface coatings, upgrading urban forms, and improving the people’s lifestyles, MLIT is focusing intensively on measures to secure greenery and open areas in a strategic manner, and will implement long-term measures.

## Responding to the sick building syndrome and soil contamination issues

MLIT is addressing the sick building syndrome, soil contamination and dioxin issues, while taking necessary measures against the asbestos issue, which include the removal of air-borne asbestos from existing buildings and the elimination of it during demolitions.

## ○ Environment-friendly construction

Regulation on the use of non-road special motor vehicles has been implemented pursuant to the Act on Regulation, etc. of Emissions from Non-road Special Motor Vehicles. In addition, the ministry works toward designating and disseminating low-noise, low-vibration construction machines to control noise at building sites.

## (7) Observation/monitoring/projection of the global environment

## ○ Observation and monitoring of global environment

Pursuant to the Priority Measures Concerning the Future Global Environment formulated and released in June 2008, MLIT is monitoring the concentrations of $ CO_{2} $ in the atmosphere and the ocean by research vessels. The ministry also plans to implement the next geostationary meteorological satellites, Himawari-8 and 9, which lead the world with enhanced functions to observe the global environment. MLIT participates in the Argo Project to deploy profiling floats, which observe water temperature and salinity from the surface to mid-depth (2000m) autonomously in global oceans. The ministry is also observing and monitoring the ozone layer and ultraviolet rays and promoting regular environmental observation in Antarctica.

In addition to conventional surface and marine observation through observation ships, MLIT will improve the observation and monitoring of the global environment on the land, in the air and in the sea.

## ☐ Projection of global climate change

With respect to global warming, the Japan Meteorological Agency and Meteorological Research Institute have developed models to project global climate change as well as climate change of the areas around Japan, and the research results have been quoted in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Tokyo Climate Center (TCC) provides technical assistance, and information related to the observation of extreme weather, long-range weather forecasting and global warming predictions to meteorological organizations in other countries.

## Promotion of Global Map and global geodetic observation

MLIT is playing a leading role in the Global Mapping Project. MLIT is also conducting global geodetic observation, such as on crustal movement and associated research, including international observation activities with the aid of VLBI (measurement technology using radio stars) and SLR (capable of measuring earth–satellite distance with the aid of a laser).