The Japan Hub of Disaster Resilience Partners (JHoP) is a network‑based organization established in 2019 as Japan’s hub for flexibly promoting integrated disaster risk reduction (DRR) research in collaboration with overseas organizations under the framework of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), an international science program. Twenty universities, research institutes, and administrative bodies in Japan engaged in disaster prevention and mitigation participate in this initiative. ICHARM is among these member entities.
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| Chief Researcher Kuribayashi chairs the second session of the symposium. |
JHoP collaborates closely with ongoing discussions within the Subcommittee on IRDR of the Committee on Civil Engineering and Architecture of the Science Council of Japan (SCJ). It has established a joint task force with this subcommittee, providing a forum through which researchers and practitioners meet monthly and maintain close communication. The subcommittee also has the IRDR Activity Promotion Working Group, of which Executive Director KOIKE Toshio and Chief Researcher KURIBAYASHI Daisuke are members.
On August 26, 2026, the Subcommittee on IRDR and JHoP jointly hosted a hybrid public symposium, “Towards a Sustainable and Resilient Society: Japan Hub of Disaster Resilience Partner (JHoP) Stimulating Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration,” at SCJ’s Auditorium in Minato‑ku, Tokyo. As the first opportunity since JHoP’s establishment, speakers from participating institutions presented a wide range of practices, and participants discussed various issues by combining JHoP’s four principal areas of activity with the policy recommendations issued by SCJ on April 10, 2026, under the overarching title “Science, Technology and Innovation to Strengthen Disaster Resilience in Megacities Facing Catastrophic Disaster Risks.” The symposium aimed to strengthen collaboration between academia and society in disaster prevention and mitigation,
The symposium was moderated by USUDA Yuichiro, the director of the Center for Digital Transformation and Action Research at the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) and an SCJ associate member. Following opening remarks and an introduction to JHoP by TAKARA Kaoru, the president of NIED and an SCJ associate member, and an overview of the policy recommendations by TAMURA Keiko, a specially appointed professor at the Crisis Management Center of Niigata University’s Headquarters for Risk Management and a member of SCJ Section III Physical Sciences and Engineering, four sessions were held. Kuribayashi chaired Session 2, “Dissemination and Circulation of Disaster Information (Chapter 6 of the policy recommendations) × Standardization of Information Infrastructure.” In this session, the following speakers introduced their respective organizations:
In the panel discussion following the presentations, participants discussed Recommendation 8, “Utilizing the Latest Technologies and Knowledge in Disaster Information,” and Recommendation 9, “Taking the Lead in Developing AI Effective for Disaster Management.” Regarding Recommendation 8, speakers emphasized the need to transform mere information into actionable intelligence. For example, in flood response, the Integrated Disaster Response System for Municipalities (IDR4M), developed under the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program, provides a six‑hour lead time, which was noted as highly effective for municipalities in converting information into intelligence. Another comment pointed out that while mass media tend to focus on sensational disaster-related figures as unexpected, greater efforts should be made to encourage them to help raise public awareness and preparedness, for example, by providing more information on effective practices for reducing disaster damage. Regarding Recommendation 9, speakers noted that for AI to be effectively used in disaster management, it should not be perceived as a black box. Instead, “disaster-specialized AI systems” should be developed by incorporating existing disaster‑management rules and regulations to ensure as much transparency as possible, enabling local government leaders to rely on them more confidently in their decision‑making.
In Session 4, “Science, Technology and Innovation for Disaster Resilience in Megacities (Chapter 8 of the policy recommendations) × Collaboration among Industry, Academia, Government, and Communities,” Kuribayashi introduced ICHARM’s activities. He highlighted two initiatives: the “Water Resilience and Disaster Platform” underway in Davao, Philippines, under the International Flood Initiative (IFI), and the Online Synthesis System for Sustainability and Resilience (OSS-SR), a knowledge integration system. In the subsequent panel discussion, participants discussed Recommendation 13, “Establishing a Science and Technology Innovation Platform for Disaster Management,” and Recommendation 14, “Strategically and Continuously Providing Recommendations Addressing Disaster‑Related Challenges Based on Societal Needs.” Referring to the roles of academia, Kuribayashi argued that universities and research institutes, key components of JHoP, possess unique advantages, such as diverse means and opportunities for risk communication. He emphasized that they can serve as a bridge between governments and communities by drawing on these strengths, and are well positioned to directly engage with residents.
For more information on JHoP:
https://www.bosai.go.jp/jhop/en/
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Front row, from left: Professor OHARA Miho of the University of Tokyo, Specially Appointed Professor Tamura, President Takara, and Director Usuda. (Professor Ohara chaired the first session of the symposium.) |