The National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) is working on three tasks: predicting disasters, preventing damage, and realizing speedy reconstruction and recovery efforts in the event of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, torrential rains, blizzards, and ice storms.

In the last three years of the NIED’s fourth mid/long term plan period, which began in 2016, natural disasters have occurred every year, including earthquake disasters such as the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake (M7.3) and the 2018 Iburi, Hokkaido, earthquake (M7.1). Disasters of the rainfall include the heavy rainfall in the northern Kyushu (Fukuoka and Oita) in July 2017, the heavy rain event in southwestern Japan in July 2018, the rainfall in northern Kyushu (Saga) in August 2019, and the heavy rainfall in Kanto and Tohoku in October 2019. There were also other disasters: an avalanche accident on Nasudake in 2017 and a phreatic eruption of Kusatsu-Shiranesan in 2018.

Due to the above-mentioned very frequent occurrence of such natural disasters on the Japanese islands, our institute has conducted several research projects to mitigate the damage from such disasters and to accelerate the recovery from them. As the third NIED special issue in the Journal of Disaster Research, several related research results were presented such as those on seismic disasters (Wakai et al., Nakazawa et al., and Ohsumi et al.), those on climatic disasters (Nakamura, and Ishizawa and Danjo), and those of their integrated researches for disaster risk reduction (Cui et al. and Nakajima et al.).

Although the achievements detailed in these papers are the results of individual research, the NIED hopes that these results as a whole will be fully utilized to promote science and technology for disaster risk reduction and resilience. The NIED hopes that this special issue awakens the readers’ interest in new research and, of course, creates an opportunity for further collaborative works with us.

For sophistication of strong ground motion prediction in terms of disaster mitigation, one of the principal issues is to model subsurface velocity structures so that characteristics of earthquake ground motions can be reproduced in the broadband range 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz. In recent years, subsurface structures have been modeled in sedimentary layers on seismic bedrock for a few regions of Japan, in a national project. In this study, subsurface velocity structures were modeled from seismic bedrock to the ground surface for the Tokai region. These models were constructed in accordance with the subsurface velocity structure modeling scheme published by the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion. To begin with, initial models were constructed based on existing bore-hole data, geological information, etc. Next, they were improved based on results of microtremor explorations which had been conducted in recent years. It was found that the new model had different characteristics to the conventional model. This paper will present the modeling process and characteristics of distribution maps for velocity structures and amplification index.

The earthquake (Mw 7.3) that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015 caused damage to many civil engineering and architectural structures. While several road gabion retaining walls in mountainous regions incurred damage, there was very little information that could be used to draw up earthquake countermeasures in Nepal, because there have been few construction cases or case studies of gabion structures, nor have there been experimental or analytical studies on their earthquake resistance. Therefore, we conducted a shake table test using a full-scale gabion retaining wall to evaluate earthquake resistance. From the experiments, it was found that although gabion retaining walls display a flexible structure and deform easily due to the soil pressure of the backfill, they are resilient structures that tend to resist collapse. Yet, because retaining walls are assumed to be rigid bodies in the conventional stability computations used to design them, the characteristics of gabions as flexible structures are not taken advantage of. In this study, we propose an approach to designing gabion retaining walls by comparing the active collapse surface estimated by the trial wedge method, and the experiment results obtained from a full-scale model of a vertically-stacked wall, which is a structure employed in Nepal that is vulnerable to earthquake damage. When the base of the estimated slip line was raised for the trial wedge method, its height was found to be in rough agreement with the depth at which the gabion retaining wall deformed drastically in the experiment. Thus, we were able to demonstrate the development of a method for evaluating the seismic stability of gabion retaining walls that takes into consideration their flexibility by adjusting the base of the trial soil wedge.

Whenever a natural disaster occurs, a damage assessment must be conducted to determine the extent of the damage caused, in order to quickly and effectively undertake disaster response, recovery, and reconstruction efforts. It is important to consider not only natural phenomena, but the impact of the damage on local communities as well (which is a pressing concern at any disaster site). Although a conventional, field-survey-based disaster assessment can yield solid information, it still takes time to gauge the overall implications. While an SNS system can facilitate information collection in real time, it is riddled with problems such as unreliability, and the challenge of handling vast amounts of data. In this study we analyzed Twitter content that was generated after the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake and was related to disaster response efforts at the site of the disaster, and used it to test an approach that combines and utilizes natural language processing and geo-informatics for disaster assessment. We then verified the use of this process in two different disaster response scenarios. In this paper, we discuss some possible approaches to disaster assessment that utilize SNS information analysis technology.

Widespread damage was caused in eastern Japan as a result of the earthquake and tsunami which occurred in 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku (hereinafter, the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake). A large tsunami struck the coastal area of eastern Japan and caused damage to buildings, breakwaters, tide embankments and river levees. The joint reconnaissance team of the Tohoku and Kyushu branches of the Japanese Geotechnical Society investigated the geotechnical damage in the south-central coastal area of Iwate Prefecture from the beginning of April to September 2011. This report summarizes the geotechnical hazards and the damage to port structures, roads, railways, river levees, and buildings caused by the earthquake motion and tsunami in the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake in the south-central coastal area of Iwate Prefecture. Major investigation areas are Kamaishi City (Koshirahama Port, Touni-Chou), the coastal area of Ofunato City (Sanriku-Chou Yoshihama, Sanriku-Chou Okirai), and Rikuzentakata City. In the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, many people could not or did not evacuate from the tsunami. However, students at junior high and elementary schools started tsunami evacuation quickly, resulting in what is known as the “Kamaishi Miracle.” This study focused on the tsunami evacuation of children in Unosumai district, Kamaishi City.

In the avalanche on Mt. Nasu on March 27, 2017, eight persons lost their lives and many others were injured. One of the problems when an avalanche occurs is visualizing the potential occurrence of a surface avalanche. Accordingly, a system has been designed and implemented to show, in a two-dimensional model, the surface avalanche potential caused by snowfall from cyclones in a 5 km square mesh across Japan. A demonstration experiment was conducted to provide the information and verify the system. In this paper, the contents and usage of a new system for forecasting the surface avalanche potential caused by snowfall from cyclones are examined, based on the results of a questionnaire conducted after the demonstration experiment, to provide information for forecasting the potential of avalanche and comparing it with other avalanche information. This study then considers the practical use of the system. As a result, the surface avalanche potential caused by snowfall from a cyclone can be visualized over a wide area. Such forecast information is both serviceable and potentially lifesaving.

The July 2018 heavy rain, which was actually a series of intermittent downpours instead of a short-term continuous heavy rainfall, triggered a large number of sediment disasters. This study was conducted to evaluate sediment disaster triggers. In the study, an interview-based survey was conducted on the occurrence times of the sediment disasters caused by the heavy rain and a rainfall analysis was completed using analyzed rainfall data from the Japan Meteorological Agency. These were followed by an analysis of estimated occurrence times of the sediment disasters and the temporal changes in rainfall indices determined through the rainfall analysis. An analysis of disasters at 36 sites examined for the purposes of this study showed that many occurred when the soil water index (SWI) during the study period (June 28, 2018, to the estimated occurrence time of a sediment disaster) was maximized. The analysis also indicated that slope failures tended to occur when hourly rainfall was relatively low and the SWI was high and debris flows occurred when the SWI was high and hourly rainfall was relatively high. Examination of the data, considering the alert level of the SWI, showed that in cases where the SWI continued to increase after exceeding the alert level, 75% of the sediment disasters analyzed occurred within approximately 19 h.

In this study, we assumed that animated announcements that conveyed rainfall intensity of localized heavy rain and the distribution of electronic gifts to encourage rain evacuation would promote evacuation actions. If evacuation actions could be promoted through these methods, then the transmission of weather information could be improved. Therefore, we modified the features of a weather information application for smartphones, which was already widely used, and conducted a demonstrative experiment with application users who agreed to participate in order to check the validity. We analyzed users’ behaviors by transmitting information regarding the predicted start time of rain and recording the Global Positioning System coordinates of the users’ smartphones. In addition, a questionnaire survey was administered to the users after the experiment to collect data on their conception of rainfall intensity. The participants were also interviewed. The results of the experiment showed a significant difference in user conception of rainfall intensity depending on whether they had viewed the animation. However, a behavior analysis based on location data showed no statistical bias in the relationship between the animation and rain evacuation behavior.

As global sea levels continue to rise, atoll countries—facing persistent and imminent risk—are expected to become source nations of climate migrants in the foreseeable future. This special issue features 10 academic articles, which examine if residents in Pacific atoll countries were, are, or will be ready to re-establish their livelihoods after relocation.

The topic of migration is akin to a kaleidoscope, with continuously evolving shapes and colors, necessitating a broad spectrum of approaches across various disciplines. The authors of these articles thus examined the topic through mathematics, civil engineering, cultural and disaster studies, economics, education, geography, international relations, language, law, sociology and politics. The methodologies applied range from policy analysis to structural equation modeling.

Migration driven by climate change takes place gradually, even over a few decades. Unlike forced migration due to causes such as war and conflict, future climate migrants have the short-term advantage of time to ready themselves for displacement from their homeland. Preparation prior to relocation may include enhancing one’s language or vocational skills.

One of the focal points of this special issue is therefore the preparedness of migrants, both past and future. Case studies were carried out across Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the United States.

We also considered how migrants are received following resettlement, both in terms of legal instruments and assistance given by the public and private sectors. Case studies conducted in Austria and the United States address this aspect.

Yet another focus is to identify prevailing factors through which people develop their perceptions of climate change and its implications, for such perceptions are a driving force for migration. Case studies in Kiribati and the Marshall Islands contribute to this understanding.

We hope this special issue sharpens the vision of climate change and migration, and serves as a stepping stone for further research in the field.

Atoll countries in the Pacific, namely Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu, will become sources of climate migrants in the foreseeable future. This study aimed to examine if people in these atoll countries were, are, or will be ready to successfully relocate to foreign countries by re-establishing their lives and livelihoods in a new environment. An international collaborative research project was launched and implemented from 2017 to 2019. Case studies were conducted in Micronesia, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands as the origin of climate migrants and in Fiji and the USA as their destination. It was found that a number of legal tools and practical policy measures are available for countries to alleviate the struggles of environmental migrants, despite the lack of a comprehensive legal framework that protects environmental migrants by allowing them to move to other countries. In addition, 65% of the college and university students in the Marshall Islands indicated education as their primary reason to migrate abroad, followed by work (15%), health (8%), family (7%), climate change (3%), and natural disasters (2%). The ratios of students who wished to migrate because of climate change were similar between the Marshall Islands (3%) and Micronesia (4%), despite the fact that the former is an atoll country and the latter is mostly composed of “high-lying islands.” As for the migrants from the Marshall Islands and Micronesia to the USA, climate change was revealed to be a contributing factor for some in their decision to migrate, and more so as a factor for not returning home. It was also found that education had more influence than religion or culture on people’s perception of climate change and its implications in the Marshall Islands and Kiribati. The policy implemented in Vienna, Austria was proved to be effective in avoiding the emergence of society and culture-bound mental illness, which is inherent to large, isolated ethnic communities.

Recent years have seen dramatic growth in people migrating due to environmental shocks and changes. Many of these shocks and changes are climate-related. Environmental migration can occur due to sudden-onset events, such as hurricanes, floods, and heatwaves and slow-onset events, such as coastal erosion, sea level rise, and droughts. Migrants may move to temporary or permanent new housing, either locally or abroad, depending on the options available to them. They may return; many do not. Currently, there are few legal mechanisms that allow environmentally displaced persons to move or stay in new safe locations. Moreover, social and economic support that would allow them to adapt to their new surroundings is similarly scarce. As climatic events displace an increasing number of people, the search for legal mechanisms to protect and support environmental migrants has intensified, as has the search for complementary tools that ease the migrants’ transition in their countries of destination. While there is no international agreement that protects environmental migrants, there are legal tools and practical policy measures that countries can take on their own or in collaboration with others to alleviate struggles of environmental migrants. This article reviews a number of the available legal and policy measures. It starts with a brief review of the dynamics and scope of environmental migration. It then surveys legal options for managing environmental migrants, considering both the prospects for a comprehensive legal approach and the options for a toolbox approach. The article then turns to policy approaches for supporting livelihoods of environmental migrants, before taking a broad view of policy options.

With growing numbers of Marshallese immigrating to the United States, increasing attention is given to the enabling factors that support migration both pre-departure and post-arrival. This article provides an analysis of structured interviews and surveys between College of the Marshall Islands students living in Majuro in comparison to first generation Marshallese living in Springdale, Arkansas. The analysis sought to understand the intent of Marshallese students to move to the United States, their reasons for emigrating, and their expectations regarding life outside of the Marshall Islands in contrast to the current lives and livelihoods of Marshallese living in Arkansas. This article identifies the disparities between expectations, opportunities, and information exchange and provides options for improving the immigration and accommodation of Marshallese into the United States.

The Pacific Islander population in the U.S. continues to grow, with the Portland-Salem, Oregon area serving as one of the largest communities, notably among those from the Micronesian region. Migrants emigrate for a variety of reasons including educational and employment opportunities, improved healthcare, and assisting family members. The purpose of this study is to better understand the transition of Micronesians – specifically Chuukese, Marshallese, and Palauans – to Oregon and to identify factors that help or hinder that transition. The study utilizes a Migration with Dignity framework, assessing reasons for emigration to the U.S., experienced quality of life, especially livelihoods, potential reasons for (not) returning to one’s home country, and barriers and facilitating factors for an improved quality of life in Oregon.

People from Kiribati, especially after obtaining college degrees, tend to have a desire to migrate abroad to obtain further education and good jobs and, to some extent, due to the impacts of climate change. Nineteen percent of I-Kiribati migrants in Fiji who responded to our survey indicated climate change as a factor for their migration, but their primary reasons were to seek better education and employment. When seeking employment, their lack of English-language skills and professional qualifications posed challenges. However, those who had prepared well in advance tend to find jobs relatively smoothly after migration. When settling in a new area, people tended to rely on family connections, community groups, and other social supports as sources of network and safety net.

Little is known about the extent to which climate change drives migration from the Pacific atoll nation of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). How and to what extent the youth of RMI aspire to migrate to other countries was investigated through a survey of 106 students at the Marshall Islands Campus of the University of the South Pacific (RMI-USP). While 44% of respondents indicated an aspiration to move abroad either for study or employment, and most students were well aware of the adverse effects of climate change, climate change was not cited as the primary reason or motivation for migration. Analysis of data in a second study explored the University’s tracking data of Foundation Year graduates from the RMI-USP Joint Education Program. This analysis found that students who have studied abroad are more likely to have the opportunity to either stay abroad or to migrate at some time after their studies.

This study aims to find out the basis of Marshallese students’ aspirations to migrate abroad, determine whether intellectuals in the same country share such aspirations, observe how well Japanese university students and intellectuals understand why Marshallese students migrate, and compare the Marshallese students’ motivations to emigrate with those of students from the Federated States of Micronesia. I conducted a survey by interview and questionnaire in the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Japan. I found that 65% of the students in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) felt education was the primary reason to migrate abroad, followed by work (15%), health (8%), family (7%), climate change (3%), and natural disasters (2%). The RMI intellectuals correctly guessed the relative importance students granted the factors (education, work, health, etc.). However, they underestimated the importance of education for the students. Eleven percent of the Japanese students assumed that Marshallese students would wish to migrate abroad because of climate change, which overestimates the students’ feelings about the issue. Interestingly, no Japanese student considered health or family to be possible reasons for RMI students to emigrate abroad. Perhaps, Japanese students were not aware of the prevalence of very strong family ties and inadequate medical facilities in RMI. There were similar percentages of students who wished to migrate because of climate change between the RMI (3%) and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) (4%). However, the RMI is an atoll country that may be submerged by climate change, and the FSM is mostly composed of volcanic islands that will not be submerged.

This study aims to quantitatively find the influence of religion, culture and education on the perception of climate change, and its implications. A survey was carried out, with students of a college and a university in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and a university in Kiribati answering a questionnaire. It emerged that education has more influence than religion or culture on people’s perceptions of climate change and its implications, both in the RMI and Kiribati. It is interesting because the two countries are not homogeneous in terms of history, culture and religion. Another surprising finding was that seemingly contradictory ideas (e.g., no flooding in the future as stated in the Bible, compared with the perceived sea level rise) exist in the minds of the majority of the respondents, both in RMI and Kiribati. Having conflicting ideas in one’s mind may delay one taking action to cope with climate change and its implications.

Currently, structural equation modeling (SEM) is widely used in the discipline of social sciences because of its capability in exploring causal relationships among variables. By applying SEM, this study aims to verify the hypothesis that there exist three fundamental factors (religion, culture, education) that influence the perception of climate change. The researchers took advantages of the output results of the questionnaire survey that had been conducted both in Majuro, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and in Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati, in an international collaborative research project titled “How Religion, Culture and Education Influence the Perception of People about Climate Change.” The results indicated that the two cases, namely RMI and Kiribati, were similar; that is the basic structure of both cases in the background of climate change bears some resemblance. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the path coefficient from education to the perception of climate change in the case of Kiribati (0.86) is much higher than that in the case of RMI (0.47). Thus, it is implied that education may significantly influence the perception of people about climate change and its implications, both in RMI and Kiribati. Based on this finding, it is advocated that further efforts should be devoted to education so that the perception of people about climate change and its implications can get much clearer.

More than 10,000 people have migrated from the Republic of the Marshall Islands to Springdale, Arkansas in the United States. That number is increasing. The Marshallese living in Springdale are not effectively integrated into the host society. Many Marshallese are mentally stressed not only in their home country, but in Springdale as well. This problem will be alleviated if those in Springdale are well-integrated into the host society. The city of Vienna, Austria, has a history of accepting large numbers of immigrants. In this study, we analyzed the experience of integration in the city of Vienna and examined ways in which this can be applied to the situation in Springdale. Many Marshallese make few preparations for migration to the United States; this becomes an obstacle when they start residing there. Vienna Start Coaching, implemented by the City of Vienna, is a mechanism providing the information that is needed by foreigners when they arrive at the city. The city of Vienna has many therapists to provide mental health care for immigrants and citizens. This is to ensure the possibility of having people who can listen to them in their native language. Moreover, the city offers German language courses to immigrants. Provision of more English language education could facilitate their integration with the host community.

Since the start of the 21st century, major disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, have caused tremendous damage. The scope of the impact has spread across borders because global chains and the like have diversified. Consequently, disaster prevention and mitigation for reduction is now an important issue in the international community. To advance disaster reduction, it has been necessary to combine the humanities and social sciences with medical science and natural sciences as well, and Tohoku University has become the base of disaster prevention. What activities have begun, and for what purpose? I would like to find out and deepen my interest through this mini special feature.

The first part gives the background and objectives of the world’s top research cluster for disaster science. The second part presents survival study, or how to protect oneself from disasters such as tsunamis. Survival study is highly unique to this cluster. Reclassifying is proposed to compile the causes of death indicated by autopsy and systematizing deaths in the event of a disaster. Next, efforts in the humanities and social sciences to preserve the folk performing arts left in the community are presented. It has been pointed out that once local communities and connections are lost in disasters and its recovery faces more difficulty.

Recent natural disasters, including the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, have caused tremendous widespread damage and disruption around the world, and disaster risk reduction (DRR) has become a global priority. Tohoku University established a core research cluster, thus creating a new area of “disaster science” that consolidates four different science areas – practical, natural sciences, humanities, and social science – by adopting the disaster management cycle concept. It takes an inventory of research needs for science and technology applications in DRR and serves as a platform for discussions on strengthening multidisciplinary research on disaster science. This paper introduces the central idea driving the project and offers strategies to contribute to existing academic science and international society.

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami caused the loss of 20,000 lives in Japan. According to the National Police Agency (2012), 90% of deaths in the Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures were due to drowning. On the other hand, this report also showed that the remaining 10% died from circumstances other than drowning, as suggested by the Japanese Society of Legal Medicine (2012). A new solution is needed to propose practical measures against a tsunami. In this paper, the authors suggest the science of human survival from disaster as one of the solutions and illustrate the research design implemented to build it. Constructing the science of human survival shall be important to mitigate human damages in future tsunami disasters.

Various traditional festivals have taken place in most of the community in the coastal areas of the Tohoku region before the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. Recent studies have revealed that reviving these festivals plays a crucial role for people to reconstruct a community life in the tsunami-affected area. Despite the importance of the intangible cultural properties, not only outfits used but also crafts to make those kits were swept away by the 2011 tsunami. Under this background, this research attempts to record the three-dimensional data of those materials used in festivals and folk performing arts. This project aims to construct the database of those props used for the intangible cultural properties and offer three-dimensional data to the disaster-affected area to rebuild their community life. Another goal of this explorative project is to create a methodology of three-dimensional measurement in the field of the disaster humanity science. By scanning cultural properties in disaster-prone areas not only in Japan but also in other countries, the project attempts to connect international networks to discuss the applicability of this method.

The objectives of this study are to conduct an analysis on rainfall change tendencies, calculate the inundation in the basins of Mun and Chi Rivers in the northeastern region of Thailand, and clarify the flood risk in the long term, taking the spatial characteristics of flooding into consideration. To grasp the rainfall change tendencies, two statistical analyses are conducted using the Mann-Kendall test and the generalized extreme value distribution. The inundation analysis is conducted using the Rainfall-Runoff-Inundation (RRI) model. As a result of the statistical analysis on the rainfall characteristics, it can be observed that the annual rainfall has significant increasing tendencies at the significance level of 5% in a wide area of the upper reaches. In addition, inundation calculation indicates that the maximum inundation depth and inundation area have increased in recent years.

The 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia signaled the failure of a risk communication system, causing Indonesia to be accused of mishandling the natural disaster. Many criticisms focused on allegations that the country’s meteorology and geophysics agency canceled the tsunami alert too early and misinformed public, that the sirens weren’t operable to warn local people, the tidal buoys did not work to send the tsunami signal, consequently, causing casualties. Improving the risk communication system raises the following question: what are the criteria for designing a risk communication system for areas in the disaster-prone zone? This paper employs multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) as a framework that is integrated with the combination of technical and cultural risk communication to provide such an answer. As for the findings, this study includes sixteen indicators that are distributed among nine criteria of a risk communication system within two types of measurement: qualitative and quantitative. It suggests that a risk communication system shall work better on a two-way process. Stakeholders’ and decision-makers’ involvement and public participation are required to make better decisions because it leads to better awareness of risks and greater acceptance of risk management strategies that are jointly agreed upon.

As an issue was raised with respect to the following paper published in the Journal of Disaster Research (JDR), we conducted an investigation.

A) Paper published in the JDR

Yasuki Iizuka, Katsuya Kinoshita, and Kayo Iizuka, “A Distributed Autonomous Approach to Developing a Disaster Evacuation Assist System,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.10, No.6, pp. 1081-1090, 2015. (Received: July 31, 2015, Accepted: October 21, 2015, Published: December 1, 2015)

B) Paper compared

Yasuki IIZUKA, Katsuya KINOSHITA, Kayo IIZUKA, “Agent Based Disaster Evacuation Assistance System,” Information Engineering Express International Journal, Vol.1, No.2, pp. 41-50 (2015). (Published: June 30, 2015)

1. Results of Investigation

- The texts of the two papers were compared, whereupon a percentage match exceeding 47 percent was found in terms of the number of words. When the comparison was made with the initially submitted manuscript, that is, the manuscript before it was revised based on peer reviews, the percentage match with paper B was 58 percent.

- When the conclusions of the two papers were compared, they were found to be nearly identical, from which we conclude that paper A does not display sufficient novelty.

- Paper B is not cited as a reference in paper A, and when the same figure appears in the two documents, its source is not cited.

- It was found that, during the period from manuscript submission to publication, the authors failed to submit paper B as a previously published paper, as stipulated in Article 11.2 of the JDR Instructions to Authors (Japanese version), or otherwise submit any documentation that refers to the existence of paper B.

2. Decision

As a result of the above investigation, the JDR editorial board concludes that paper A constitutes a duplicate submission and is in violation of the JDR Instructions to Authors (Japanese version). Its acceptance is thereby revoked, and it has been duly removed from the JDR official website.

Any inquiries regarding this matter should be made to this office:

JDR Editorial Office, Fuji Technology Press Ltd.

Unizo Uchikanda 1-Chome Bldg. 2F

1-15-7 Uchikanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0047, Japan

TEL: 03-5577-3851 FAX: 03-5577-3861

E-mail: disaster@fujipress.jp