Thanks to all of you, we could celebrate 50th anniversary of the establishment of IISEE. We held international memorial symposiums in February and June of this year and issued a commemorative publication titled “Ayumi of IISEE (in Japanese)” with CD in English. We will continue to advance, collaborating with GRIPS, JICA and UNESCO. New earthquake and tsunami disaster management is in progress at the affected areas in Tohoku where reconstruction has just started. IISEE tries to provide new knowledge and technologies to make the most of these hard lessons. We will very much appreciate your continuous understanding and support in the future.

Please find the attached file of a greeting card from IISEE.

Shoichi ANDO

Director, IISEE

All staff members of IISEE

I retired from Building Research Institute in this October and working as a Professor at Toyohashi University of Technology from November. It was a wonderful experience for me working in IISEE as a chief research engineer and meeting with excellent participants around the world through the training course. Improving seismic safety of buildings is important work to save lives regardless of the country. I will continue to carry out research activities related to seismic assessment of buildings. Also, taking advantage of the experience of IISEE, I would like to educate university students to have an international perspective. My best wishes for future growth and prosperity of IISEE.

Taiki SAITO

Professor, Toyohashi University of Technology (tsaito@ace.tut.ac.jp)

IISEE are pleased to inform you that we will newly organize “IISEE Seminar”, aiming at exchanging information and deepening cooperation in IISEE, between the fields of seismology, earthquake engineering and tsunami. Up-to-date topics will be introduced by researchers, lecturers and ex-participants of the International Training in Seismology and Earthquake Engineering who do research in and across these fields. The first IISEE Seminar will be held as follows:

Date and Time: 9:10-10:10, Monday, December 25, 2012

Speaker: Prof. Takashi Furumura

(Center for Integrated Disaster Information Research (CIDIR), Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies / Earthquake Research Institute, the University of Tokyo)

Topic: Computer Simulation of Seismic Wave and Tsunami

Other Seminars:

March 5, 2013: Dr. Masumi Yamada (Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University)

Being arranged:

+Dr. Chimed Odonbaatar (Research Center Astronomy and Geophysics Mongolian Academy of Sciences)

+Prof. Francisco Jose Chavez Garcia (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico)

+Dr. Pulido Nelson (National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention)

Participants of Seismology course and Earthquake Engineering course visited Niigata Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture (November 13 to 16). English reports of Study Trip by participants of S and E-courses are as follows.

Ms. GALSTYAN Nazeli / Armenia (Earthquake Engineering Course)

For us Tohoku Study Trip was one of the best ways not only in fact to verify our theoretical knowledge about 2011 Tohoku Earthquake but also chance to understand Japanese culture how to make a reconstruction plan after disasters without panic and follow it with full optimism. How to overcome the challenge to have a harmonic country with nature and peace even in case of big disasters. After this trip I felt me more responsible to do my best to have a deep knowledge of EE. Since that is only way to overcome the main goal of EE “Save the human life!” I am thankful for this Study Trip to IISEE.

Mr.KHADKA Bir Bahadur / Nepal (Earthquake Engineering Course)

The study trip on from 13 to 16 Nov. 2012 was really beneficial in many ways. In the one hand we observed most of the affected areas due to Earthquakes and Tsunami that occurred 2004 and 2011, and in the other hand we got a lot of knowledge to mitigate and manage the effects of such disaster .The reconstruction plan, procedures, peoples’ participation, immediate response of the government, involvement of private sectors, buildings having base isolation system etc. were impressed me very much because we don’t have such kind of coordination and skill. In fact, that visit was in the area of focus of my study period to advance my understanding of EQ/Tsunami and the

output will be instrumental to apply such techniques in my country.

Mr. NYAGO Joseph / Uganda (Seismology course)

My recent visit to Nagoaka and Tohoku regions is one of the remarkable experiences during my stay in Japan. I had a great opportunity to witness some of the live scenes in disaster hit areas of the country caused by 2004 M6.8 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake and 2011, M9.0 Offshore Pacific earthquake and its devastating tsunami. Besides sightseeing, I came to realize and acknowledge Japanese determination, confidence and dedication towards management of disasters, through making use of effective recovery practices and techniques to revive the devastated areas. I therefore emphasize that natural disasters will never warn once they are to strike. This further contributes to my understanding that for a developing country, whose economy can easily get crippled due to such severe disasters, it is high time to embark on managing disasters through formulation of effective disaster recovery and mitigation policies and techniques which can easily cope up with the local conditions.

Mr. Rajabi BANIANI Sepehr / Iran (Seismology course)

These days study trips play an important role for participants and students, all around the world. In the case of Geohazards and earthquakes, this method helps us to know moreabout causes and damages related to these hazards. I had this chance to visit Nagaoka and Tohoku regions. Nagaoka was hit by an earthquake in 2004 and it caused some damage to the city and especially mountainous places. However, the important matter is how people came together and rebuilt their city. The same situation had happened in Tohoku but the difference is that there was a huge tsunami which hit the coastal cities. This trip had a great outcome, as I learned a lot about Geohazards and the importance

of management in and after natural hazards in order to rebuild the city effectively and immediately. This trip was a great experience to improve our system inside of my home country.

Toshiaki YOKOI

Chief Research Scientist, IISEE

Koichi MORITA

Chief Research Engineer, IISEE