The , abbreviated JMA, is an
agency of the
.
It is charged with gathering and providing results for the public in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
that are obtained from data based on daily scientific observation and research into
natural phenomena
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
in the fields of
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
,
hydrology
Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...
,
seismology
Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...
and
volcanology
Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin word ''vulcan''. Vulcan was the anci ...
, among other related scientific fields. Its headquarters is located in
Minato,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
.
JMA is responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and
forecasts
Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared (resolved) against what happens. For example, a company might estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the actual ...
for the general public, as well as providing
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
and
marine weather. JMA other responsibilities include issuing warnings for
volcanic eruption
Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are oft ...
s, and the nationwide issuance of earthquake warnings of the
Earthquake Early Warning
An earthquake warning system or earthquake early warning system is a system of accelerometers, seismometers, communication, computers, and alarms that is devised for notifying adjoining regions of a substantial earthquake while it is in progress ...
(EEW) system. JMA is also designated one of the
Regional Specialized Meteorological Center
A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as p ...
s of the
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics.
The WMO originated from the Internati ...
(WMO). It is responsible for
forecasting
Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared (resolved) against what happens. For example, a company might estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the actual ...
,
naming
Naming is assigning a name to something.
Naming may refer to:
* Naming (parliamentary procedure), a procedure in certain parliamentary bodies
* Naming ceremony, an event at which an infant is named
* Product naming, the discipline of deciding wh ...
, and distributing warnings for
tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depen ...
s in the
Northwestern Pacific region, including the
Celebes Sea
The Celebes Sea, (; ms, Laut Sulawesi, id, Laut Sulawesi, fil, Dagat Selebes) or Sulawesi Sea, of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east b ...
, the
Sulu Sea, the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
, the
East China Sea
The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
, the
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour ter ...
, the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
and the
Sea of Okhotsk.
History
![Japan Meteorological Agency 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Japan_Meteorological_Agency_2012.JPG)
*August 26, 1872 – The first weather station in Japan set up in
Hakodate
is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...
,
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The lar ...
. It is the precursor of the present .
*June 1875 – The original was formed within the .
*January 1, 1887 – The Tokyo Meteorological Observatory was renamed as the , with the transfer of its jurisdiction to the Home Ministry.
*April 1895 – The replaced the preceding ministry as an administrator of the Observatory.
*January 1, 1923 – The main office moved to Motoe-machi, Kōjimachi-ku (later Takehira-chō 1), where it is near a
moat surrounding the
Imperial Palace.
*November 1943 – The took over the CMO's operation.
*May 1945 – It became part of the .
*July 1, 1956 – The Central Meteorological Observatory became an agency of the Ministry of Transport, and has been renamed to the .
*March 1964 – The headquarters office was relocated to the present building in
Ōtemachi
is a district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is located north of Tokyo Station and Marunouchi, east of the Imperial Palace, west of Nihonbashi and south of Kanda. It is the location of the former site of the village of Shibazaki, the most a ...
,
Chiyoda-ku.
*January 6, 2001 – The JMA becomes an agency of the with the
Japanese government reformation.
*2013 – It has been announced that it would be scheduled to move the headquarters into
Toranomon
is a business district of Minato, Tokyo.
History
Literally meaning "Tiger's Gate," Toranomon was the name of the southernmost gate of Edo Castle. The gate existed until the 1870s when it was demolished to make way for modern developments. ...
,
Minato-ku.
*November 24, 2020 - JMA moved to the new headquarters in Toranomon.
Services
Overview
The JMA is responsible not only for gathering and reporting weather data and
forecasts
Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared (resolved) against what happens. For example, a company might estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the actual ...
in Japan, but also for observation and warning of
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
s,
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
s,
typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
s and
volcanic eruption
Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are oft ...
s.
The agency has six regional administrative offices (including five
DMOs and
Okinawa Meteorological Observatory), four Marine Observatories, five auxiliary facilities, four Aviation Weather Service Centers and 47 local offices composed of the
LMOs. These are also used to gather data, supplemented by
weather satellite
A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asynchronously), or ...
s such as ''
Himawari'', and other research institutes.
[
In 1968, the ]World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics.
The WMO originated from the Internati ...
(WMO) designated the JMA as a Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre
A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as p ...
(RSMC) for Asia. In June 1988, the WMO also assigned the JMA as a RSMC for the Northwestern Pacific under its Tropical Cyclone programme. In July 1989, the RSMC Tokyo – Typhoon Center was established within the headquarters office, which dealt with the forecasting and dissemination of active tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depen ...
s, as well as preparing a summary of each year's cyclone activity.
Observation and forecast
Weather
= Land weather
=
Each DMO and LMO issues weather forecasts and warnings or advisories to the general public live in its own area. Weather data used to these forecasts are acquired from the Surface Observation (represented by the AMeDAS), the Radar Observation, the Observation and the Satellite Observation mainly using the '' Himawari'' series.
= Marine weather
=
The Marine Observatories are seated in Hakodate
is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...
, Maizuru
is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,644 in 34817 households and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Maizuru is located in northern Kyoto Pref ...
, Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
, Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...
. These stations observe ocean wave
In fluid dynamics, a wind wave, water wave, or wind-generated water wave, is a surface wave that occurs on the free surface of bodies of water as a result from the wind blowing over the water surface. The contact distance in the direction of t ...
s, tide levels, sea surface temperature
Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mas ...
s and ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours ...
s etc. in the Northwestern Pacific basin, as well as the Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
, the Sea of Okhotsk, and provide marine meteorological forecasts in cooperation with the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department, Japan Coast Guard
The is the coast guard of Japan.
The Japan Coast Guard consists of about 13,700 personnel and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Th ...
.
= Aviation weather
=
In 2005, in accordance with the ICAO's new CNS/ ATM system, the Civil Aviation Bureau
The is the civil aviation authority of Japan and a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Its head office is in the MLIT building in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is the Japanese equivalent of the U.S ...
of the set up the Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) in Fukuoka
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
, where the FIR is fixed. Along with this establishment, JMA placed the Air Traffic Mateorology Center (ATMetC) inside the ATMC.
The agency forecasts SIGMET
SIGMET, or Significant Meteorological Information (AIM 7-1-6), is a severe weather advisory that contains meteorological information concerning the safety of all aircraft. Compared to AIRMETs, SIGMETs cover more severe weather.
Types
There a ...
for aircraft in flight within the Fukuoka FIR airspace, while VOLMET
{{Use dmy dates, date=December 2021
VOLMET (French origin ''vol'' (flight) and ''météo'' (weather report)), or meteorological information for aircraft in flight, is a worldwide network of radio stations that broadcast TAF, SIGMET and ME ...
is broadcast by each Aviation Weather Service Center at the airports of Haneda
, officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...
, Narita, Centrair and Kansai. Additionally, Aviation Weather Stations (beside the airports of New Chitose, Sendai, Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, Fukuoka
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
, Kagoshima
, abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...
and Naha
is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area ...
) deal with the similar tasks as these.
= Tropical cyclones
=
In the Northwestern Pacific area, the typhoon season ordinarily comes almost from May to November. The JMA forecasts and warns or advises on tropical cyclones to the public in Japan and its surrounding countries as well because it also works as the RSMC Tokyo – Typhoon Center.
Earthquakes
The JMA has its own 624 observation stations across the country that set up at intervals of 20 km approximately in order to measure seismic intensity of earthquakes precisely. The agency also utilize about 2,900 more seismographs owned by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED) and local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
s. A 24-hour office has been housed within the JMA headquarters in Tokyo, for monitoring and tracking seismic events in the vicinity of Japan to collect and process their data, which issues observed earthquake's information on its hypocenter
In seismology, a hypocenter or hypocentre () is the point of origin of an earthquake or a subsurface nuclear explosion. A synonym is the focus of an earthquake.
Earthquakes
An earthquake's hypocenter is the position where the strain energy ...
, magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object
*Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector
*Order of ...
, seismic intensity and possibility of tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
occurrence after quakes quickly to the public through the Earthquake Phenomena Observation System (EPOS). The Earthquake Early Warning
An earthquake warning system or earthquake early warning system is a system of accelerometers, seismometers, communication, computers, and alarms that is devised for notifying adjoining regions of a substantial earthquake while it is in progress ...
(EEW) system began to work fully for the general public on October 1, 2007.
The agency is one of the representatives of the national .
Tsunamis
It is essential to provide coastal regions for tsunami information so that its catastrophic damages can be reduced and mitigated there. In case of there is a possibility of tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
after an earthquake, JMA issues Tsunami Warning or Advisory for each region in Japan with information of estimated tsunami heights and arrival times within 2 to 3 minutes of the quake.
Volcanoes
The agency set up four Volcanic Observations and Information Centers within DMOs in Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...
, Sendai, Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
and Fukuoka
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
. They are monitoring volcanic events on 110 active volcanos in Japan and 47 of these volcanos selected by the Coordinating Committee for Prediction of Volcanic Eruption are under 24-hour observation with seismographs, accelerometer
An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accele ...
s, GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
, air-shock recorders, fixed point observation cameras and other equipment. If it is predicted that a volcanic eruption will affect inhabited areas or around a crater, Volcanic Warnings are issued and supplemented by Volcanic Alert Levels.
Organization
Headquarters
*
*
*
*
**
***
**
**
**
Local offices
*
**6 Regional Headquarters
***
****6
****1
****1
***
****5
****1
***
****16
****3
***
****13
****1
***
****7
****1
****1
***
****3
****1
Auxiliary organs
*
**
**
**
**
**
Directors-General and Chief Executives
Chief Executives of Central Meteorological Observatory
#: 1890–1891
#: 1891–1895
#: 1895–1923
#: 1923–1941
#: 1941–1947
#: 1947–1956
Directors-General of JMA
#: 1956–1963
#: 1963–1965
#: 1965–1969
#: 1969–1971
#: 1971–1974
#: 1974–1976
#: 1976–1978
#: 1978–1980
#: 1980–1983
#: 1983–1985
#: 1985–1987
#: 1987–1990
#: 1990–1992
#: 1992–1993
#: 1993–1996
#: 1996–1998
#: 1998–2000
#: 2000–2003
#: 2003–2004
#: 2004–2006
#: 2006–2009
#: 2009–2011
#: 2011–2014
#: 2014–2016
#: 2016–2019
#: 2019–2021
#: 2021-present
See also
* Pacific typhoon season
*Severe weather terminology (Japan)
This article describes the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) severe weather terminology. The JMA defines precise meanings for nearly all its weather terms as the . This article describes JMA terminology and related JMA weather scales. Some terms m ...
References
External links
*
Northwest Pacific Tsunami Advisory Center (NWPTAC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Japan Meteorological Agency
Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres
1956 establishments in Japan
Government agencies established in 1956