Where is the Fukushima Exclusion zone?

Fukushima Exclusion zone, known as "the Difficult-to-Return zones". According to the Reconstruction Agency of Japan, defined as follows, "Areas where the annual cumulative radiation dose estimated from the air dose rate may not fall below 20 mSv even six years after the nuclear accident". Specifically, it is the pink colored part on the following map. Fukushima Prefecture created this map. You can check here.

Where the microphone station located?

The microphone station is located at Omaru district in Namie town in Fuskuhima (the Difficult-to-Return zone in Namime town). The location of the microphone is at one white-roofed container house on Google Maps.　You can enlarge the map below and confirm it with satellite photo mode.

Is there any way to make sure that the microphone is really installed?

That's a good question. How about comparing it with real-time weather information and flight status? Since the microphone is installed outside, you can hear the sound of rain and wind in real time. And since it is a quiet place, you can hear the sound when an airplane passes over it. What do you think?

Why are you recording soundscape in the exclusion zone?

Counting sounds in a given soundscape is considered an effective method in ecology studies. We thought it would be a good way to efficiently explore the vast exclusion zone.

What kind of sound are you specifically investigating?

We are currently investigating the seasonal changes in the warbler's singing voice. We are paying attention to this because there is a previous study of Chernobyl nuclear accident response research.

Who started this study and how? How did you get permission? Who runs it??

We actually visited the site and launched it. We have permission from residents (now living in another place) and government agencies. We just asked the people involved for explanations and waited for permission from everyone. There are various circumstances of the victims of the earthquake, so understanding such difficult circumstances was our top priority. That's why it took five years to launch the project. This research is funded by competitive research funds and donations from private companies. This is an individual research started by researchers at the University of Tokyo. It operates independently.

How long do you plan to continue this research? Is that possible?

This project aims to operate the system for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year until completion of the nuclear power plant decommissioning (Scheduled for 2051 in TEPCO's plan). Prior to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the principal investigator had been conducting similar research projects elsewhere. At that time, He has 13 years of operational experience. As of 2021, he has 23 years of operational experience. It's only 30 years left! Therefore, there are no technical concerns regarding system operation. We believe that we can continue as long as the health of our research staff is not affected.

Is the recorded data publicly available? Is the data available for my research activities?

Of course it is open to the public. You can record it from the project site (here), or you can use the archive. However, the amount of data has already reached tens of thousands of hours, which is more than your (my) personal computer can handle. There are various methods, so please contact us first. We are actually conducting joint research with researchers in France and Canada.

I would like to collaborate. Is it possible? Do I need to go to Japan?

Of course, we welcome joint research. You don't have to come to Japan (Even if your travel restrictions were lifted after the world turmoil caused by the coronavirus). What we value is that our research activities continue to be accepted by the people of Fukushima (The principal investigator is Japanese but not from Fukushima.). A team in Japan will fulfill that role whatever they can. Please do what you can from/for your country.

Are you accepting students? Will you be my supervisor?

Students, research students, postdocs and visiting scholars are always welcome. Please contact Professor Kobayashi or other members.

Is it possible to use it as a teaching material for classes?

Yes, please use it. We have experience using it from primary education to university classes. We also have the experience of accepting tours from Russian research institutes and teaching with Israeli university institutions.

I'm not familiar with computers, but I would like to do research on exclusion zones. Can you give me some advice?

Computer experts are not the only members of this research group. There are also experts in ethology, forest science, environmental education and media art. The research staff who often goes to the site are familiar with the local situation. If you tell us what you want to study, we will consult with you to realize it.

I wish you had published this page a little earlier ....

We are sorry we couldn't make a quick release. Although the core members are researchers at Japanese universities, it is extremely difficult to carry out such time-consuming research due to the employment situation of researchers in Japan (details can be found here). Fortunately, we were able to prepare this page because some members have improved their employment situation a little.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Thank you. We welcome not only researchers but also volunteers from a wide range of fields such as engineers and science communicators. Engineers are mainly experts in the field of information technology. As for science communicators, we would like those who are interested in environmental problem issues. In either case, Japanese language skills are not required.

Do you accept donations?

Thank you very much. We would like to thank you for your kindness in carrying out our research. You can wire (transfer) from the donation acceptance page of the University of Tokyo. Credit cards accepted.

https://utf.u-tokyo.ac.jp/english

Please provide the following information in the donation purpose column.

radioactive live soundscape project (Hill Hiroki Kobayashi, Information Technology Center)

How can I contact you?

The contact information for the principal investigator is as follows.

animal-grp2 [at] csis.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Hill Hiroki Kobayashi

Information Technology Center, The University of Tokyo