Testimonials  

• We have entered the period of Big Data, which recognizes the importance of data as evidence. Our construction of databases for Earth observations goes back over 30 years. The time has come for the true value of these observations to trigger social innovation.

  

  Masaru Kitsuregawa

  Professor, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo; Director General, National Institute of Informatics

• MEXT has created DIAS as the world’s largest global-environment Big Data infrastructure through 10 years of incremental improvements. Now is the chance to use our wisdom and DIAS to change society. I am looking forward to some ground-breaking ideas.

  

  Masaaki Tanaka

  former Deputy Director-General, Research and Development Bureau Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)

• DIAS is the first system to analyze rich data on changes in the real world in order to contribute to society. We will aggressively expand DIAS to cover human, social, and economic changes in addition to hydrological and environmental data.

  

  Ryosuke Shibasaki

  Director, Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo

• It is important to predict future river flows and envisage damage with respect to the water disasters made more frequent and severe by climate change. DIAS has great potential as a tool for society to share risk information and take countermeasures.

  

  Koji Ikeuchi

  Director of River Planning Division, Water and Disaster Management Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)

• Collecting data from many fields is essential for disaster response. Recent technologies have enabled collection and storage of massive data, but its application is a challenge. DIAS will impact on disaster prevention and infrastructure projects.

  

  Noriaki Hirose

  President of Nippon Koei

• Coordination with scientific disciplines and the application of data are covered in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. New data integration/analysis by DIAS will play a crucial role in the implementation and evaluation of SDGs.

  

  Norichika Kanie

  Professor, Keio University, Graduate School of Media and Governance; Senior Research Fellow, UNU-IAS

• DIAS contains a lot of weather and hydrological information. We want to improve the accuracy of forecasting local downpours by supplementing DIAS’ data with that measured at TEPCO’s dam to assist hydroelectric dam management and effective energy utilization.

  

  Hisashi Tomochika

  Group manager, TEPCO

• Integrated management of environmental and disaster risk is necessary for sustainable development. We hope to solve problems in the field of disaster prevention/reduction through risk monitoring and accumulating/processing diverse data with DIAS.

  

  Toshio Koike

  Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo; Director, ICHARM

• DIAS provides a foundation for monitoring climate change, predicting its impact, and proposing adaption measures. We hope to release data and predications on DIAS to assist in sharing information, exchanging opinions, and investigating adaption measures.

  

  Takashi Hamada

  Researcher, Nagano Environmental Conservation Research Institute (NECRI)