By Ms. Yoriko Iiba, Head of IISEE Administration Division

The IISEE opening ceremony of the 2014-2015 training course was held at JICA Tsukuba from 16:00 to 16:30 on Friday, October 3. They are 7 participants of Seismology Course, 10 participants of Earthquake Engineering Course and 6 participants of Tsunami Disaster Mitigation Course. For most of them it is the first time to come to Japan.

Please see the Newsletter attached on page 1.

By Ms. Yoriko Iiba, Head of IISEE Administration Division

The IISEE one-year training program is carried out in collaboration with the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). While a participant enters the IISEE regular training course, he/she is enrolled at the GRIPS’ master’s degree program in Disaster Management Policy.

Please see the Newsletter attached on page 2.

By Dr. Toshiaki Yokoi, Director of IISEE

It was the first chance for the Seismology course and Earthquake Engineering course participants to go to Tokyo Metropolis after they have come to Tsukuba. In the morning at Edo-Tokyo Museum, they learned the geological history of Tokyo Low Land, namely, the formation of thick soft soils in the eastern part of the metropolis and also the damage due to the 1923 Kanto Earthquake.

Please see the Newsletter attached on pages 2&3.

"New guidelines to improve the safety of informal buildings" by Prof. Anand S. Arya (India), Prof. Teddy Boen (Indonesia) and Prof. Yuji Ishiyama (Japan) has been published by UNESCO.

Please see the Newsletter attached on page 3.