scholarly journals Characterizing Risk Communication and Awareness for Sustainable Society: The Case of Foreign Residents in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area of Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5786
Author(s):  
Bismark Adu-Gyamfi ◽  
Rajib Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Risk Communication ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Disaster Prevention ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Vulnerable Group ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan Area ◽  
The World

Many disasters occur in Japan, and therefore many initiatives to educate and integrate foreign residents into its society to overcome systematic barriers and enhance disaster preparedness have been implemented. Nevertheless, studies have highlighted foreign residents as a vulnerable group who are at risk of disasters in the country. The country anticipates and prepares for potential mega-disasters in the future; therefore, effective risk communication is vital to creating the required awareness and preparation. Therefore, this study looked at the changing foreigner–Japanese population mix in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area to ascertain its level of diversity and risk communication characteristics. It used secondary and primary data to analyze how heterogeneity among foreigners translates into a different understanding of their awareness. The study reveals that the 23 special wards within the Tokyo Metropolitan area can be compared to other recognized diverse cities in the world, with Shinjuku city, Minato city, Arakawa, and Taito cities being the most heterogeneous cities in Tokyo. Nevertheless, diversity within foreign residents creates diversity in information-gathering preferences, disaster drill participation preferences, and the overall knowledge in disaster prevention. The study suggests the use of these preferences as a tool to promote targeted risk communication mechanisms.

scholarly journals Two-Step Seismic Noise Reduction Saused by COVID-19 Induced Reduction in Social Activity in Metropolitan Tokyo, Japan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suguru Yabe ◽  
Kazutoshi Imanishi ◽  
Kiwamu Nishida
Keyword(s):  
Noise Reduction ◽  
Frequency Band ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Seismic Noise ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan Area ◽  
The World ◽  
40 Hz

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic that started at the end of 2019 forced populations around the world to reduce social and economic activities; it is believed that this can prevent the spread of the disease. In this paper, we report a seismic noise analysis during such an induced social activity reduction taking the Tokyo Metropolitan area, Japan. Using seismic data obtained from 18 stations in the Metropolitan Seismic Observation Network (MeSO-net), a two-step seismic noise reduction in the frequency bands 1–20 Hz and 20–40 Hz was observed during the timeline of COVID-19 in Tokyo. The first noise reduction occurred at the beginning of March in the frequency band 20–40 Hz. This corresponded with the request of the Prime Minister of Japan for a nationwide shutdown of schools. Although social activity was not reduced significantly at this juncture, local reduction of seismic wave excitation in the high frequency band, 20–40 Hz, was recorded at some MeSO-net stations located in school properties. The second reduction of seismic noise occurred at the end of March to the beginning of April 2020 in the frequency band 1–20 Hz. This timing corresponds to when the Governors of the Tokyo Metropolitan area requested citizens to stay home and when the state of emergency was declared for the Tokyo Metropolitan area by the government, respectively. The estimated population at train stations abruptly dropped since this timing, which suggests that social activity was severely reduced. Such large-scale change in social activity affects the seismic noise level in the low frequency bands. The seismic noise level started to increase from the middle of May correlating with increase in population at the train stations. This suggests that social activity restarted even before the state of emergency was lifted at the end of May. The two-step seismic noise reduction observed in this study has not been reported in other cities around the world. Unexpected reduction of social activity due to COVID-19 provided us a rare opportunity to investigate the characteristics of seismic noise caused by human activities.

scholarly journals Two-step Seismic Noise Reduction caused by COVID-19 Induced Reduction in Social Activity in metropolitan Tokyo, Japan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suguru Yabe ◽  
Kazutoshi Imanishi ◽  
Kiwamu Nishida
Keyword(s):  
Noise Reduction ◽  
Frequency Band ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Seismic Noise ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan Area ◽  
The World

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic that started at the end of 2019 forced populations around the world to reduce social and economic activities; it is believed that this can prevent the spread of the disease. In this paper, we report an analysis of the seismic noise during such an induced social activity reduction in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan. Using seismic data obtained from 18 stations in the Metropolitan Seismic Observation Network (MeSO-net), a two-step seismic noise reduction was observed during the timeline of COVID-19 in Tokyo. The first noise reduction occurred at the beginning of March 2020 in the frequency band of 20–40 Hz. This corresponded with the request by the Prime Minister of Japan for a nationwide shutdown of schools. Although social activity was not reduced significantly at this juncture, local reduction of seismic wave excitation in the high frequency band, 20–40 Hz, was recorded at some MeSO-net stations located in school properties. The second reduction of seismic noise occurred at the end of March to the beginning of April 2020 in a wider frequency band including lower frequency bands of 1–20 Hz. This timing corresponds to when the Governors of the Tokyo metropolitan area requested citizens to stay home and when the state of emergency was declared for the Tokyo metropolitan area by the government, respectively. Since then, the estimated population at train stations abruptly dropped, which suggests that social activity was severely reduced. Such large-scale changes in social activity affect the seismic noise level in low frequency bands. The seismic noise level started to increase from the middle of May correlating with increase in population at the train stations. This suggests that social activity restarted even before the state of emergency was lifted at the end of May. The two-step seismic noise reduction observed in this study has not been reported in other cities around the world. Unexpected reduction of social activity due to COVID-19 provided a rare opportunity to investigate the characteristics of seismic noise caused by human activities.

Disaster Response and Mitigation Support Technology for All-Hazards in Tokyo Metropolitan Area

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Hisada ◽  
Toshihiro Osaragi ◽  
Masahiro Murakami ◽  
Osamu Mizuno ◽  
Wataru Kobayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Central City ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Application Software ◽  
Disaster Prevention ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan Area ◽  
Spatially Distributed ◽  
Secondary Disasters

In Theme 7-2 of SIP Disaster Prevention (Enhancement of Social Resiliency against Natural Disaster of Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program), we implemented the two subthemes to develop the disaster response and mitigation technology effective for the complex disaster caused by earthquake and flood by torrential rain in megalopolis such as Tokyo metropolitan area; “Subtheme 1: Development of Application Software for Supporting All-Hazards Management in Megalopolis and Commercial Areas around Large Terminal Stations,” and “Subtheme 2: Sustainable Development of Local Disaster Prevention Technology with Visualization Application.” In the former, we formulated behavioral guidelines of central city areas during disasters based on the hazard/risk assessment, and developed an application software for PC/smartphone to support emergency management by delivering relevant information to civilians and disaster response workers during the disaster. Especially, the application would reduce secondary disasters, such as the confusion/panic by the huge number of crowds. In the latter, to “efficiently utilize the limited time, human resources and goods and to minimize damage” at the time of the disaster, we developed a “travel support application,” which can efficaciously “assign” workers to various tasks (the events that require a response) that are spatially distributed at the occurrence of disaster, “navigate” by identifying optimal routes for patrol and “monitor” progress.

scholarly journals Two-step seismic noise reduction caused by COVID-19 induced reduction in social activity in metropolitan Tokyo, Japan

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suguru Yabe ◽  
Kazutoshi Imanishi ◽  
Kiwamu Nishida
Keyword(s):  
Noise Reduction ◽  
Frequency Band ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Seismic Noise ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan Area ◽  
The World

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic that started at the end of 2019 forced populations around the world to reduce social and economic activities; it is believed that this can prevent the spread of the disease. In this paper, we report an analysis of the seismic noise during such an induced social activity reduction in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan. Using seismic data obtained from 18 stations in the Metropolitan Seismic Observation Network (MeSO-net), a two-step seismic noise reduction was observed during the timeline of COVID-19 in Tokyo. The first noise reduction occurred at the beginning of March 2020 in the frequency band of 20–40 Hz. This corresponded with the request by the Prime Minister of Japan for a nationwide shutdown of schools. Although social activity was not reduced significantly at this juncture, local reduction of seismic wave excitation in the high-frequency band, 20–40 Hz, was recorded at some MeSO-net stations located in school properties. The second reduction of seismic noise occurred at the end of March to the beginning of April 2020 in a wider frequency band including lower frequency bands of 1–20 Hz. This timing corresponds to when the Governors of the Tokyo metropolitan area requested citizens to stay home and when the state of emergency was declared for the Tokyo metropolitan area by the government, respectively. Since then, the estimated population at train stations abruptly dropped, which suggests that social activity was severely reduced. Such large-scale changes in social activity affect the seismic noise level in low-frequency bands. The seismic noise level started to increase from the middle of May correlating with increase in population at the train stations. This suggests that social activity restarted even before the state of emergency was lifted at the end of May. The two-step seismic noise reduction observed in this study has not been reported in other cities around the world. Unexpected reduction of social activity due to COVID-19 provided a rare opportunity to investigate the characteristics of seismic noise caused by human activities.

scholarly journals Two-step Seismic Noise Reduction caused by COVID-19 Induced Reduction in Social Activity in metropolitan Tokyo, Japan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suguru Yabe ◽  
Kazutoshi Imanishi ◽  
Kiwamu Nishida
Keyword(s):  
Noise Reduction ◽  
Frequency Band ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Seismic Noise ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan Area ◽  
The World

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic that started at the end of 2019 forced populations around the world to reduce social and economic activities; it is believed that this can prevent the spread of the disease. In this paper, we report an analysis of the seismic noise during such an induced social activity reduction in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan. Using seismic data obtained from 18 stations in the Metropolitan Seismic Observation Network (MeSO-net), a two-step seismic noise reduction was observed during the timeline of COVID-19 in Tokyo. The first noise reduction occurred at the beginning of March 2020 in the frequency band of 20–40 Hz. This corresponded with the request by the Prime Minister of Japan for a nationwide shutdown of schools. Although social activity was not reduced significantly at this juncture, local reduction of seismic wave excitation in the high frequency band, 20–40 Hz, was recorded at some MeSO-net stations located in school properties. The second reduction of seismic noise occurred at the end of March to the beginning of April 2020 in a wider frequency band including lower frequency bands of 1–20 Hz. This timing corresponds to when the Governors of the Tokyo metropolitan area requested citizens to stay home and when the state of emergency was declared for the Tokyo metropolitan area by the government, respectively. Since then, the estimated population at train stations abruptly dropped, which suggests that social activity was severely reduced. Such large-scale changes in social activity affect the seismic noise level in low frequency bands. The seismic noise level started to increase from the middle of May correlating with increase in population at the train stations. This suggests that social activity restarted even before the state of emergency was lifted at the end of May. The two-step seismic noise reduction observed in this study has not been reported in other cities around the world. Unexpected reduction of social activity due to COVID-19 provided a rare opportunity to investigate the characteristics of seismic noise caused by human activities.

scholarly journals A Training Program to Enhance Disaster Preparedness of Group Companies in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (23) ◽  
pp. 4871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudo ◽  
Mashiro ◽  
Beppu ◽  
Hakamata
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Physical Condition ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Business Continuity ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan Area ◽  
Metropolitan Government

Many business continuity (BC) plans do not mention food and water for BC personnel. Moreover, the BC relies on the assumption that, during an emergency or crisis, employees’ basic needs and personal hygiene are satisfied. Although no one can engage in BC without these supplies, literature regarding companies’ disaster stocks for their employees is limited. We evaluated the current situation of companies’ stockpiles of food and other supplies and what their employees thought about them after participating in a newly-developed overnight training program that allows the participants to experience situations that they would encounter in a disaster. Thirty-three employees from eight companies in Tokyo participated in the program. Seventy-five percent of the participants’ companies had food stocks for three days as instructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government but, after eating four stock meals, 81.3% of the participants thought it would be better if this provision were improved. The stock rate for bedding was 62.5% but less than 30% of companies stocked both blankets and mats, as suggested by the Sphere Standards. There were several people who complained of sleeplessness and a poor physical condition the next morning and this could be an obstacle in the BC.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document