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Collaborations

This facility will serve as a platform to strengthen collaborations with countries across Latin America.

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Next Generation

These initiatives will attract talented students from Latin America to pursue advanced studies.

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Projects

Junior high school students in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, have initiated activities for preparing against earthquake/tsunami disasters.

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Kyoto University On-site Laboratory

International Research Laboratory for Earthquake and Tsunami Risk Cognition and Reduction

As one of Kyoto University’s cross-bound type On-site Laboratories, iLETs facilitates international collaboration in earthquake and tsunami disaster research. The laboratory is housed within the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI) at Kyoto University, providing a base for UNAM researchers visiting Japan. Similarly, a counterpart laboratory has been established within the Faculty of Engineering at UNAM, where Kyoto University professors, researchers, and students can conduct research and fieldwork. Both universities jointly manage these facilities, fostering bilateral academic exchange and cooperation.Through iLETs, we aim to strengthen research collaboration with global institutions and advance cutting-edge scientific studies on earthquake and tsunami hazards, risk assessment, and disaster resilience.

About Us

What is “Comparative Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Science”?

Our goal is to conduct interdisciplinary research aimed at mitigating the risks of future megathrust earthquakes and tsunami disasters in subduction zones worldwide. A key feature of our approach is the integration of perspectives from the natural sciences, engineering, humanities, and social sciences as a point of view from comparative study.
From a scientific standpoint, we advance research on earthquake and tsunami generation mechanisms. Based on engineering insights, we explore disaster risk reduction strategies through both structural (hard) and non-structural (soft) measures. Furthermore, we leverage findings from the humanities and social sciences to enhance risk communication in collaboration with governments, municipalities, and local communities, ultimately promoting disaster preparedness and social implementation.
By fostering research collaboration between Japan and Mexico, we aim to generate more comprehensive, practical, and long-term knowledge—insights that cannot be obtained through studies conducted in a single country or region alone.

Perspective on Future Collaborations in Latin America

Japan and Latin America share similar tectonic settings, resulting in common experiences with earthquake and tsunami disasters. However, due to geographical distance, collaborative research between these regions has been limited. To bridge this gap, we have established iLETs at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) as a dedicated hub for international research. This facility will serve as a platform to strengthen collaborations with countries across Latin America, including El Salvador, Colombia, Peru, and Chile, fostering joint research efforts in earthquake and tsunami disaster science and promoting knowledge exchange between regions.

Activities

Fostering the Next Generation of Researchers

By facilitating joint research between Kyoto Univerisity, a global leader in earthquake and tsunami disaster science, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a top-tier international institution, we aim to train early-career researchers and students who can excel in the global research community.
Additionally, we will host summer schools and workshops on earthquake and tsunami disaster science for students in Latin America. These initiatives will attract talented students from Latin America to pursue advanced studies and research at Kyoto University.

Opening Ceremony of the Kyoto University On-Site Laboratory“International Research Laboratory for Earthquake and Tsunami Risk Cognition and Reduction (iLETs)” at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
Global Studies EN

Opening Ceremony of the Kyoto University On-Site Laboratory“International Research Laboratory for Earthquake and Tsunami Risk Cognition and Reduction (iLETs)” at the National Autonomous University of Mexico

Joint Statement signed in collaboration with the Mexican National Disaster Prevention Center
Global Studies EN

Joint Statement signed in collaboration with the Mexican National Disaster Prevention Center

Projects

Why do earthquakes and tsunamis occur?

Why do earthquakes and tsunamis occur? Researchers specializing in seismic observation activities use graphics to explain the mechanisms behind occurrence of earthquakes and tsunamis while discussing their experiences of such events in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.

The Dynamism of Disaster Prevention Education Through Rafael-Community Disaster Prevention

How does a community change when local residents undertake disaster preparedness?
Through ACTION! VISUAL ETHNOGRAPHY, you can view efforts by Japanese researchers and Disaster Prevention Bureau staff in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, to establish community disaster preparedness groups. The video provides a summary of changes among Disaster Prevention Bureau personnel and the development of community disaster preparedness groups observed over a period of about four years, namely 2016 through 2019, from the perspectives of Japanese researchers, shining a spotlight on one Disaster Prevention Bureau staff member.

Disaster Risk Reduction Education Spanning the Pacific Ocean: Exchange Among Mexican and Japanese Junior High School Students

Junior high school students in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, have initiated activities for preparing against earthquake/tsunami disasters. The catalyst for the students carrying out evacuation drills and producing disaster prevention maps was online exchange with junior high school students in Japan on the topic of disaster preparedness. This ACTION! VISUAL ETHNOGRAPHY video summarizes scenes of exchange between the Mexican and Japanese students, together with the Mexican students’ proactive disaster preparedness activities from the perspectives of Japanese researchers.

International Research Laboratory
for Earthquake and Tsunami Risk
Cognition and Reduction (iLETs)

iLETs serves as a hub for disaster research between Japan and Latin America, aiming to establish a sustainable international network for disaster risk reduction.

Contact iLETs
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