International Tsunami Disaster Prevention Society
The Japanese word “tsunami,” written in the Roman alphabet, has become an international word. However, before us, there were no scientific societies which special- ized in tsunami. Recent research points out that tsunamis are not just concomitant with earthquakes, but they are related to subsolifluction and other factors. The severe damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake has demonstrated the necessity to prepare both structural measures and non-structural measures for tsunami disas- ter prevention. Our society, therefore, aims at investigating the cause of tsunami by collaborating with not only researchers, but also with the government, the legislature, technicians, mass media, and private businesses. Our society will also become a place to discuss comprehensive tsunami disas- ter prevention that will reach every victim, including people having diffi responding promptly to emer- gencies, such as the elderly and foreign nationals. Addi- tionally, we will establish an international network be- cause we strongly believe this is the only way to truly prevent tsunami disasters. That is the reason our society’ s title includes the word “international.” We have been preparing to publish in online journals. To improve tsunami disaster prevention, it is necessary to discuss not only scientifi or engineering points of views that focus on the cause of earthquakes and maintaining infrastructure, but also look at the history and civilization of the earth and humanities, which discuss laws related to disaster prevention. In order to proceed with our activities, receiving cooper- ation from participants from various fi is crucial. The number of members in our recently established society is still low. Fortunately, three breakout sessions; the tsunami simulation session, the urban symbiotic disaster preven- tion session and the dislocation/geology session, have already been established and have vigorously started conducting activities. We would like to widely spread the purpose of our society and have more participants from different fields. Our goal is to deepen the scientific knowledge of tsunami as well as to develop and practice specifi countermea- sures for tsunami disaster prevention and reduction. We are truly looking forward to your participation .