The government’s newly established headquarters for promoting volcanic observation and research should be viewed as a crucial opportunity to enhance essential volcano disaster preparedness through surveys, observations and research aimed at nurturing human resources in this field.

Japan is crisscrossed with 111 active volcanoes. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) is responsible for monitoring volcanic activity and providing related disaster preparedness information.

The Coordinating Committee for Prediction of Volcanic Eruption, an advisory body to the agency’s director-general, uses data and research findings provided by experts from universities and national research institutions to upgrade disaster preparedness efforts.

Traditionally, universities played a leading role in volcanic research and observation activities. But maintaining volcanic observation facilities fell into difficulties due to the paucity of volcanologists and scaled back basic funding following the corporatization of national universities.

The JMA monitors only 50 active volcanoes around the clock, less than half of the total.

The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that devastated Kobe and its vicinity in 1995 led to the establishment of the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion. It served as the command center for building up a nationwide observation network to monitor seismic activity and investigate active faults. However, volcano monitoring and research, which fall outside this framework, continue to face severe budgetary constraints.

The new volcano headquarters was established in April under the science and technology ministry through a revision of the law for special measures concerning active volcanos. It will consist of two panels of experts and policymakers: a policy committee, which develops plans and allocates budgets for an observation network, surveys and research, and a volcanic investigation committee to assess volcano hazards.

The teams aim to compile an observation and research plan by this summer and work on assessment methods.

The headquarters should share its expertise with related organizations to ensure efficient operations, create a sustainable system and devise ways to provide accessible information to the public.

Deadly volcanic activity in Japan in recent years includes the 1993 eruption of Mount Unzen’s Fugendake and the 2014 eruption of Mount Ontakesan in central Japan. Both incidents killed dozens of people.

More than a century has passed since a catastrophic eruption caused widespread damage in Japan. But major volcanic disasters have occurred elsewhere: like the 2010 eruption in Iceland, which disrupted European air traffic for several weeks, and the massive event in 2022 in Tonga that resulted in tsunami reaching Japan. The 1914-1915 eruption of Mount Sakurajima in Japan’s southernmost major island of Kyushu spread volcanic ash as far as eastern Japan.

A massive and devastating eruption is bound to hit Japan sooner or later. Today, electronic devices vulnerable to volcanic ash support all kinds of social and economic systems, including vital infrastructure. The immense and transformative technological difference between contemporary society and that of 100 years ago touches almost every aspect of human activity. All sorts of unknown and unpredictable outcomes to social and economic systems, as well as health issues, from volcanic ash could be in the offing.

It is too late to seek to buttress systems only after anomalies occur. Continuous, diligent surveys and observations to accumulate data and insights in normal times are required to better prepare the nation for volcanic disasters.

It is possible to detect signs of unusual volcanic activity and issue early warnings, as was the case with the eruptions of Mount Usuzan and Miyakejima island in 2000, but predicting the type of eruption, its progression and determining when it has ceased is challenging.

It is also vital to continuously train experts who can assess volcanic activity and secure related positions where young people can play key roles.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 11