International Development Professional Training Program finished

The end of March coincided with the end of the IDPTP program in Tokyo. It was a blast, meeting so many enthusiastic students from different fields of study and organizations, all eager to learn more on current issues in international development.

And now I'm featured thrice on the website pictures, the center bottom one showing the TEPCO debate where I had to emulate the director of TEPCO. We had a great team and were convincing enough, according to the audience. As you can read in the voices of previous participants, I highly recommend this interactive program for boosting your skills while increasing your knowledge. I can only hope to find such programs in future positions, wherever I may end up. Moreover, I can only hope to meet such great participants again!

ICHARM covered on BBC

The BBC covered ICHARM research and held interviews with several researchers in their article "Can a Zen-like approach help countries with floods?"

Interviewees include Kazuhiko Fukami from the NILIM across the street, and from ICHARM Minoru Kamoto and my main supervisor and director, Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, who is quoted to say: "The disaster impact is increasing so much, this has nothing to do with climate change, it is a change of society".
As my own thesis points out, it is the increase of populations in areas exposed to hazards, in combination with an increase of vulnerable population percentages that lead to the increase of disaster impacts. This is happening regardless of climate change induced increases in intensity and frequency of hazards. Governments have to decide the economic tipping point and value of lives by either favoring safer locations and building codes over continuous investments and uncontrolled urbanization of areas exposed to hazards.

News in Japan - March

GEJET:
10-year-old letter arrives from daughter lost to tsunami
Fire hits Fukui nuclear plant, but no radiation leaks     

2,636 still unaccounted for, 3 years after Tohoku disaster

Future business opportunities seen in Fukushima cleanup
Japanese film 'Homeland' tiptoes into Fukushima nuclear debate

Patience running out among Japan's disaster refugees Japan has so far built only 3.5% of the new housing promised to refugees in heavily affected Iwate and Miyagi prefectures. As a result of the tsunami and Fukushima crisis, among almost 270,000 evacuees as of last month, 100,000 are in temporary housing.

Widower continues diving off tsunami-hit coast in search of wife's remains

Japan marks 3rd anniversary of quake-tsunami disaster

Construction crunch slows Tohoku rebuilding

U.S. scientists expect traces of ocean radiation from Fukushima soon
The children of Japan's Fukushima battle an invisible enemy
Fukushima fishermen OK plan to divert groundwater into sea

Japan:

Scientists meet in Japan to discuss climate change

“Hundreds of millions” of coastal dwellers around the world will be displaced by the year 2100

The new draft warns of food crises that could be sparked by climate change, with wheat, rice and corn yields all set to fall—while demand for crops is likely rise sharply as the world’s population grows.

USA:
Americans use twice as much water as they think they do, study says
Researchers take on fighting disastrous consequences of extreme changes in climate before they occur (USA)
Hope for survivors of landslide dims as death toll rises as high as 24

Landslide in Washington State: USGS is working with partners to provide up-to-date information

Hopes fade for survivors of huge Washington mudslide

Other:
European flood risk could double by 2050
Europe may experience higher warming than global average
Dynamic Reorganization of River Basins

The World’s Ten Best Ethical Destinations – 2014

Is pee-power really possible?

THE REALITY, RISKS AND RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Model now capable of street-level storm-tide predictions

Vulnerable people:
What good are children?
WHO: 5 percent of calories should be from sugar

Poll: Over half of people in Japan oppose same-sex marriage

Population Density Kanto Area Japan

Here is a ministerial website showing an overview of the increase in population density of Japan in the Kanto area (greater Tokyo and surrounding prefectures).

And here is the first gif I have ever made, showing this information progress over time in one image. It is important to note the time scales differ from 5 to 10 years. It would be better to have a consistent yearly scale. Please check out the website of Dennis Meredith, stacked with excellent resources, on how to best visually present your data.